<0 

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BV  1561  .A8  1921 
Ascham,  John  Bayne,  1873- 
...  Apostles,  fathers,  and 
reformers 


KINGDOM  OF  GOD  SERIES 

Studies    in   the    development   of   the   Kingdom   of    God, 
for  use  consecutively  or  as  independent  units. 

The  Religion  of  Israel 

Twenty-six  lessons. 

By  John  Bayne  Ascham 

The  Religion  of  Judah 

Twenty-six  lessons. 

By  John  Bayne  Ascham 

The  Life  of  Jesus 

Twenty-six  lessons. 

By  Harris  Franklin  Rail 

The  Teachings  of  Jesus 

Twenty-six  lessons. 

By  Harris  Franklin  Rail 

Apostles,  Fathers,  and  Reformers                                   | 

By  John  Bayne  Ascham 

Teacher's  Manuals 

For  each  unit,  ready  or  in 

preparation. 

00  OF  fmi 

KINGDOM  OF  GOD  SERIES       ^  ^„, 

OCT  12  19; 


Edited  by  HBNRY  H.  MBYER  \      >, 


lOS/CAi  %V* 


APOSTLES,    FATHERS, 
AND    REFORMERS 


BY 

JOHN  BAYNE  ASCHAM 


THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1921,  by 
JOHN  BAYNE  ASCHAM 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


The  Bible  text  used  in  this  volume  is  taken  from  the  American  Standard 
Edition  of^  the  Revised  Bible,  copyright,  1901,  by  Thomas  Nelson  &  Sons,  and 
is  used  by  permission. 


CHAPTER 


I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXL 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction 7 

Author's  Foreword 9 

Directions  for  Study 11 

The  First  Christian  Community 13 

The  First  Christian  Leaders 23 

In  the  Steps  of  a  Touring  Missionary 35 

The  Early-Christian  Message 47 

The  Church  of  the  Circumcision 59 

The  Moral  Problems  of  a  Gentile  Parish 72 

Economic  Problems  of  Early  Christianity 86 

Christianity  in  Rome 98 

The  Churches  of  Asia  Minor 112 

Christian  Literature  in  the  Apostolic  Age 125 

Church  Organization  in  the  Apostolic  Age 139 

Trials  and  Triumphs  of  the  Apostolic  Church  . .   153 

Kingdom  Movements  of  the  Apostolic  Age 167 

Christianity's  Appeal  for  World  Tolerance  ....   181 

The  Ethical  Task  of  Christianity 192 

Kingdom  and  Creed 205 

Kingdom  and  Church   217 

Christianity's  Appeal  to  Pagan  Europe 229 

The  Monastic  Ideal  of  the  Kingdom 241 

Crusading  for  the  Kingdom 253 

Daybreak  in  Different  Lands 263 

Luther  and  the  German  Reformation 274 

Calvin  and  the  Huguenots 285 

The  English  and  Scottish  Reformation 296 

The  Puritan  in  England 308 

The  Protestant  and  the  Roman-Catholic  Ideal..  319 
Index 331 


INTEODUCTION 
THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

Too  often  in  human  history  the  sharp  contrast  between 
actual  conditions  and  the  higher  demands  of  the  Christian 
ideal  has  discouraged  those  upon  whom  rested  the  respon- 
sibility for  making  that  ideal  real.  A  short-range  view  of 
life  has  obscured  the  actual  growth  of  the  Kingdom  which 
the  larger  perspective  of  history  reveals.  In  the  face  of  the 
overwhelming  preponderance  of  sin  and  selfishness  in  the 
world  the  Christian  Church  has  again  and  again  contented 
itself  with  snatching  as  many  brands  as  possible  from  the 
burning,  without,  at  the  same  time,  seeking  to  organize 
the  constructive  forces  of  life  and  of  society  for  the  seem- 
ingly impossible  task  of  putting  out  the  conflagration. 
Thus  the  actual  process  of  the  Kingdom's  coming  among 
men  has  proceeded  for  the  most  part  "without  observation," 
like  the  first  growth  of  the  seed  that  has  been  buried  in 
the  soil. 

It  is  possible  to-day,  in  the  light  of  the  completed  records 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  and  the  subsequent  his- 
tory of  the  Christian  centuries,  to  discover  definite  stages 
of  advance  with  successive  landmarks  of  progress  in  the 
gradual  establishment  of  the  reign  of  God  in  individual 
lives  and  in  the  institutions  of  mankind.  Such  a  survey 
of  progress  already  achieved  should  hearten  the  organized 
Christian  forces  in  their  forward  look  and  their  endeavor 
to  establish  still  more  firmly  among  men  the  principles  and 
ideals  of  the  Kingdom.  It  should  encourage  the  individual 
to  redouble  his  efforts  and  inspire  in  him  an  unfaltering 
confidence  in  the  ultimate  realization  and  triumph  of  God's 
rule.  Herein  lies  the  purpose  of  the  special  course  of  study 
in  the  development  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  which  this 
volume  constitutes  one  textbook. 


INTEODUCTION 

Beginning  with  a  brief  consideration  of  the  fundamen- 
tals of  religion  and  the  nature  of  man  and  of  Deity,  the 
studies  trace  the  development  of  religious  experience  and 
ideas  among  the  Hebrews  and  the  Jewish  people  down  to 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  This  early  period,  cov- 
ering the  development  of  the  Kingdom  in  Old  Testament 
times,  is  presented  in  two  volumes  of  twenty-six  study  chap- 
ters each,  the  division  being  made  at  the  point  in  the  his- 
torical development  following  the  rise  of  eighth-century 
prophetism  and  the  fall  of  Samaria.  In  similar  manner 
two  volumes  are  devoted  to  the  Life  and  Teachings  of  Jesus 
which  are  assumed  to  be  of  central  importance  in  the  for- 
ward and  upward  movement  of  humanity. 

Subsequent  studies  present  in  two  volumes  a  survey 
of  the  development  of  the  Kingdom  since  the  time  of  Christ, 
including  a  discussion  of  those  social-religious  movements 
of  the  present  day,  the  support  and  inspiration  for  which 
are  to  be  found  primarily  in  the  Christian  conception  of 
God  and  the  world.  This  volume  presents  briefly  the  story 
of  the  Kingdom  since  the  time  of  Christ,  as  this  has  de- 
veloped through  the  Christian  centuries  under  the  inspiring 
leadership  of  Apostles,  Fathers  and  Reformers.  The  con- 
cluding volume  of  the  series  is  entitled  The  Christian  Hope, 
and  presents  in  constructive  form  the  abiding  faith  of  the 
Christian  fellowship  in  the  final  triumph  of  the  kingdom 
of  God. 

It  is  confidently  expected  that  these  studies  will  serve  a 
two-fold  purpose.  As  elective  courses  for  adult  Bible 
classes  interested  in  this  vital  and  most  fascinationg  of  all 
studies,  their  usefulness  will  be  unquestioned.  At  the  same 
time  they  are  intended  to  meet  the  increasing  demand  for 
modern  textbooks  written  in  scholarly  spirit  but  popular 
style  for  preparatory  and  high  schools  and  for  advanced 
groups  in  week-day  religious  instruction  in  local  parishes. 
That  they  are  admirably  suited  for  either  purpose  will  be 
evident  from  an  examination  of  any  one  of  the  volumes 
in  the  series. 

The  Editor. 

8 


AUTHOR'S  FOREWORD 

This  volume  is  devoted  to  a  brief  description  of  the  chief 
incidents  in  the  development  of  Christianity  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  church  at  Jerusalem  to  the  close  of  the 
Reformation. 

A  true  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God  during  these  cen- 
turies would  not  be  identical  with  the  history  of  the 
church  during  the  same  period. 

"God   moves   in   a  mysterious   way 
His  wonders  to  perform." 

Undoubtedly  there  were  influences  not  controlled  by  the 
church  making  for  the  Christianization  of  the  world.  The 
church,  however,  has  been  the  chief  agent  in  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  gospel.  Frequently  unfaithful  to  its  own  con- 
science, often  blind  to  the  plain  teachings  of  its  Founder 
and  Master,  sometimes  guilty  of  unpardonable  crimes  in 
the  name  of  religion,  the  church  has  not  advanced  the 
cause  of  Christianity  according  either  to  its  opportunities 
or  its  powers.  Nevertheless,  the  church  has  been  the  chief 
promoter  of  God's  kingdom  in  the  life  and  affairs  of  men. 
It  has  been  the  chief  institution  to  carry  civilization 
onward.  It  filled  the  breach  caused  by  the  decay  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  It  molded  and  guided  the  barbarism  of 
the  pagan  invaders  of  the  old  seats  of  civilization  and 
transformed  them  into  Christian  peoples.  During  many 
centuries  it  was  the  sole  agency  that  kept  alive  the  hope  of 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

It  is  only  those  who  know  the  church  at  its  best  who 
should  exercise  the  privilege  of  pointing  out  its  faults. 
The  historian  is  well  aware  of  the  merits  and  the  defects  of 
the  church.  The  Christian  historian  understands  that  the 
failures  of  the  church  have  arisen  through  want  of  loyalty 
to  the  teachings  and  the  Spirit  of  its  Lord.    To  point  out 

9 


AUTHOR^S  FOREWORD 

the  errors  of  the  church  is  for  him  only  another  way  of 
calling  attention  to  the  glories  of  the  Christ. 

It  is  believed,  then,  that  a  clear  understanding  of  the 
facts  presented  in  this  volume  not  only  will  make  the 
student  conversant  with  the  outlines  of  church  history  of 
the  first  fifteen  centuries  of  our  era  but  will  also  clarify 
and  strengthen  his  faith  in  the  coming  of  God's  kingdom 
and  will  better  enable  him  to  take  some  true  part  in  the 
enthronement  of  Christ  in  the  life  and  institutions  of 
mankind. 


10 


DIRECTIONS  FOE  STUDY 

Read  the  chapter  assigned  for  study  without  stopping 
to  examine  Biblical  or  other  references.  After  having  ob- 
tained a  general  idea  of  the  contents  and  purposes  of  the 
chapter  reread  it  more  carefully.  Examine  all  references. 
Do  not  be  wearied  by  their  multiplicity.  It  is  only  by 
repeated  use  of  them  that  the  material  upon  which  these 
studies  are  based  becomes  familiar.  One  of  the  objectives 
of  this  book  is  to  put  the  student  in  touch  with  the  source 
material  for  a  study  of  the  rise  and  development  of  the 
church. 

Read  as  many  as  possible  of  the  references  given  for  read- 
ing. Examine  these  books.  Become  familiar  with  their 
appearance.  Obtain  a  general  idea  of  their  contents.  It  is 
a  fine  achievement  to  be  able  to  speak  intelligently  of  infor- 
mational and  thought-provoking  books. 

Use  a  notebook.  Make  brief  abstracts  of  your  reading. 
Write  answers  to  the  questions  for  class  discussion.  Leave 
space  to  add  such  facts  as  may  be  brought  out  in  the  class 
hour.  Writing  compels  a  greater  exactness  than  does  an 
oral  recitation.    Learn  to  be  exact. 

Bear  in  mind  that  this  study  of  the  founders  and  leaders 
of  the  church  is  designed  to  do  more  than  familiarize  you 
with  the  greater  facts  of  the  Kingdom's  progress :  it  is  in- 
tended also  to  quicken  you  to  become  a  worthier  citizen  of 
the  Kingdom.  At  the  close  of  each  chapter  is  a  brief 
devotional  application.  Meditate  upon  the  ideas  there 
offered.  Whatever  noble  thoughts  or  resolves  they  awaken 
in  you  record  in  your  notebook.  Your  spiritual  progress 
is  as  important  as  your  intellectual  development. 


11 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITY 

This  chapter  outlines  the  earliest  steps  in  the  beginnings 
of  organized  Christianity.  The  first  disciples  during  the 
public  ministry  of  Jesus  were  bound  together  by  the  rare 
personality  of  Jesus ;  now  they  were  held  together  not  only 
by  a  consciousness  of  his  invisible  presence  but  also  by  a 
commanding  sense  of  being  participants  with  him  in  a 
great  mission.  They  were  his  forerunners  to  prepare  the 
way  for  his  second  advent  to  set  up  his  kingdom  in  irre- 
sistible glory.  Measured  by  their  beliefs  and  conduct  and 
by  the  great  events  that  issued  from  their  labors,  these 
church-building  Jews  are  the  marvel  of  the  ages.  They 
are  worthy  of  our  deepest  sympathetic  interest  in  all  they 
believed  and  did. 

The  Risen  Cheist 

Reveals  Himself  to  His  Discouraged  Disciples. — The  im- 
mediate effect  of  the  death  of  Jesus  upon  his  disciples  was 
to  scatter  them.  This  Jesus  had  predicted  (Matthew 
26.  31).  He  had  assumed  that  they  would  return  to  their 
homes  in  Galilee  (Mark  14.  27,  28).  Whatever  were  the 
manifestations  of  Jesus  to  his  disciples  in  Jerusalem  after 
his  resurrection,  these  alone  were  not  sufficient  to  convince 
them  that  death  had  not  shorn  him  of  his  majestic  leader- 
ship in  the  bringing  in  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Jesus, 
therefore,  met  his  discouraged  and  crushed  followers  in 
some  of  the  treasured  haunts  in  Galilee  and  so  assured 
them  of  his  regnant  Messiahship  that  they  returned  to 
Jerusalem  full  of  faith  in  the  triumph  of  the  kingdom  of 
their  love  and  dreams  (Matthew  28.  7,  16;  Mark  16.  7; 
John  21.  1-23). 

Restores  Their  Confidence  in  Him  and  in  Their  Mission. 
— It  is  impossible  to  overstate  the  significance  of  the  fact 

13 


ArOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFOR.MERS 

that  in  a  little  while  after  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  his  dis- 
ciples, who  had  fled,  came  together  again  in  Jerusalem 
ready  to  proclaim  that  the  death  of  Jesus  had  not  ruined 
their  Messianic  beliefs  and  hopes.  The  death  of  Jesus  had 
seemed  the  end  of  all  their  expectations.  He  seemed  no 
longer  the  Redeemer  of  Israel  (Luke  24.  21).  His  death, 
despite  all  Jesus  had  said  about  it,  was  unexpected;  and 
whenever  Jesus  had  spoken  of  rising  from  the  dead,  the 
disciples  had  not  understood  what  he  meant  (Mark  9.  9, 
10,  31,  32;  Luke  18.  32-34).  Now  they  are  bold  in  pro- 
claiming his  resurrection.  The  rise  of  the  church  is  the 
telling  witness  of  our  risen  Lord,  for  it  is  inconceivable 
that  the  disciples  would  have  returned  to  Jerusalem  and 
begun  to  preach  the  gospel  they  had  heard  from  Jesus 
and  which  they  saw  in  his  life  and  resurrection  unless  an 
unassailable  conviction  that  he  was  alive  controlled  and 
inspired  their  lives. 

His  Abiding  Presence  With  the  Disciples. — It  is  impor- 
tant to  understand  what  conception  these  first  disciples 
waiting  in  Jerusalem  had  of  Jesus,  and  what  their  relation 
to  him  was.  Acts  1.  6;  2.  22-24,  32-36;  3.  20,  21  give  us 
material  for  determining  what  was  the  disciples'  new  con- 
ception of  Jesus.  Jesus  was  to  them  "a  man  approved 
by  God''  during  the  years  that  led  up  to  his  death.  Is 
there  any  hint  that  the  disciples  regarded  Jesus  as  the  Mes- 
siah until  after  his  death  and  resurrection  ?  The  dominant 
idea  they  hold  of  Jesus  after  his  resurrection  is  that  he  is 
indeed  the  Christ — that  is,  the  Messiah  of  Jewish  expecta- 
tions. Since  the  Messianic  Kingdom  had  not  yet  appeared, 
in  what  way  do  the  disciples  conceive  Jesus  to  be  related  in 
the  meanwhile  to  this  Kingdom  ?  See  Acts  1.  11 ;  3.  20,  21. 
They  do  not  think  of  Jesus  as  altogether  enthroned  in  the 
heavens;  he  is  also  present  with  them,  the  authority  for 
their  preaching  and  the  spiritual  Comrade  of  their  souls 
(Matthew  28.  18-20). 

The  Task  of  the  Disciples 

A  Summons  to  Witness  for  Jesus. — The  disciples,  con- 
vinced by  the  resurrection  and  ascension  of  Jesus  that  he 

14 


THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITY 

was  indeed  the  Messiah,  felt  themselves  summoned  by  him 
to  proclaim  that  Messiahship  and  the  nearness  of  the 
inauguration  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom.  Great  emphasis 
was  put  upon  the  resurrection  (Acts  1.  22 ;  2.  24,  32) .  The 
burden  of  this  earliest  preaching  was  that  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth, who  was  crucified,  had  been  raised  from  the  dead  and 
exalted  into  heaven.  This  resurrection  and  exaltation  are 
the  striking  proofs  of  his  Messiahship.  Examine  Acts 
3.  19-21  carefully.  It  was  believed  that  Jesus  the  ^lessiah 
was  to  abide  in  heaven  until  the  dawn  of  the  Messianic  era, 
when  God  would  send  him  to  set  up  the  Kingdom  on  earth. 
This  time  of  restoration  these  earliest  disciples  thought  was 
near  at  hand.  Repentance  on  the  part  of  the  Jewish  world 
and  a  recognition  of  the  crucified  Jesus  as  the  Messiah 
would  precipitate  the  golden  age.  The  prophet  Joel  was 
used  to  prove  that  the  new  age  was  at  hand.  The  spiritual 
quickening  of  Pentecost  was  regarded  as  the  fulfillment  of 
JoePs  prophecy  (Joel  2.  28,  29).  It  is  clear  that  Joel 
expected  the  outpouring  of  Jehovah's  Spirit  as  one  of  the 
immediately  preceding  marks  of  the  advent  of  the  Mes- 
sianic Kingdom.  Acts  1.  11  indicates  the  same  expectation 
that  the  advent  of  the  Messianic  age  is  not  far  removed. 

A  Summons  to  Win  Jews  to  Belief  in  Messiahship  of 
Jesus. — The  disciples  at  this  earliest  date  held  almost  the 
same  views  of  the  Kingdom  as  did  their  non-Christian 
brethren.  The  one  difference  was  their  belief  that  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  was  indeed  the  Messiah.  It  became  their 
supreme  task  to  win  a  similar  recognition  for  him  from  the 
Jewish  world.  Prevalent  Jewish  Messianism  had  no  teach- 
ing about  a  suffering  and  dying  Messiah.  Therefore,  in 
proclaiming  Jesus  to  be  the  Christ  the  disciples  sought  to 
show  that  the  Scriptures  foretold  that  the  Messiah  must 
die.  See  Acts  3.  18;  4.  10-12,  28;  5.  30-32,  42;  8.  32-35. 
This  is  the  only  use  made  of  the  death  of  Jesus  in  this 
earliest  preaching.  Instead  of  something  to  be  glorified 
and  to  be  exalted  into  a  primary  place  in  a  scheme  of 
salvation,  as  later  preaching  treated  the  crucifixion,  the 
death  of  Jesus  was  considered  by  these  earliest  disciples 
something  to   be   explained  away,   a   dire   calamity  that 

15 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

threatened  belief  in  his  Messiahship.  In  the  first  days  of 
their  grief  at  his  death  and  their  joy  in  his  rising  again 
the  disciples  had  not  come  to  the  full  consciousness  either 
of  the  kingdom  that  Jesus  actually  proclaimed  or  of  the 
relation  that  his  life  and  death  sustained  to  the  realization 
of  the  Kingdom  purposes  of  God. 

Pentecost 

Quickened  by  the  Spirit  of  God. — The  significant  feature 
of  the  spiritual  experience  of  Pentecost  recorded  in  Acts 
2.  1-42  is  the  consciousness  of  the  disciples  that  their  souls 
have  been  quickened  by  the  presence  within  them  of  the 
Spirit  of  the  living  God.  The  disciples  felt  themselves 
summoned  to  a  heroic  task.  It  was  no  slight  undertaking 
to  convince  their  countrymen  that  a  crucified  Nazarene 
had  come  forth  from  his  grave  to  be  the  Messiah  and  to 
summon  their  brethren  to  acknowledge  this  Christhood  of 
Jesus  and,  by  repentant  lives,  make  ready  for  the  swift 
coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  To  pursue  this  mission 
God  himself  must  equip  them.  He  poured  forth  into  their 
lives  his  Spirit,  until  they  possessed  the  vision  and  the 
power  to  proclaim  their  message.  That  is  the  soul  of  the 
Pentecostal  experience.  It  was  not  the  sound,  not  the  light, 
not  the  ecstatic  speech,  which  constituted  Pentecost;  it 
was  the  play  of  the  eternal  Soul  upon  the  lives  of  these 
disciples,  who  such  a  little  while  before  had  fled  in  fear  and 
despair,  until  now,  in  the  face  of  those  who  had  condemned 
Jesus,  they  are  preaching  that  he  must  be  acknowledged 
as  Christ  by  faith,  repentance,  and  baptism. 

The  Meaning  of  the  "Tongues." — In  studying  Acts 
2.  1-42  note  precisely  the  external  accompaniments  of  this 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Sound  like  the  rushing 
of  a  mighty  wind;  appearances  of  light  like  flames  of  fire 
upon  each  of  the  disciples;  and  speech,  not  in  the  cus- 
tomary Aramaic,  but  in  ecstatic,  ejaculatory  utterances, 
were  the  outward  signs  of  an  inward  miracle.  In  the  same 
or  similar  manner  this  form  of  utterance  appeared  later 
in  the  church.  See  especially  1  Corinthians  12.  10,  28,  30 ; 
14.  1-33.     "The  glossolalia  in  the  Corinthian  church  oc- 

16 


THE  FIEST  CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITY 

curred  in  the  first  glow  of  enthusiasm  after  conversion.  It 
was  not  a  speaking  in  foreign  languages ;  it  was  an  act  of 
self-devotion,  an  act  of  thanksgiving,  praying,  and  singing 
by  individuals  who  were  wholly  absorbed  in  communion 
with  God  and  gave  utterance  to  their  feelings  in  broken, 
abrupt,  rhapsodic,  unintelligible  word."  "The  Pentecostal 
glossolalia  cannot  have  been  essentially  different/' ^ 

Life  of  the  Primitive  Disciples 

The  First  Days  of  the  Primitive  Church. — Try  to  form 
a  picture  of  this  glad  springtime  of  the  Christian  Church. 
Eead  again  Acts  2,  41-47;  3.  1;  4.  19,  20,  23-26.  Observe 
all  that  may  be  inferred  about  the  rich  fellowship  of  these 
first  disciples.  All  who  accepted  Jesus  as  the  Christ  were 
baptized.  This  was  the  first  sign  of  a  new  social  bond 
uniting  Christian  believers.  Such  converts  and  brethren 
"continued  steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  teaching  and  fellow- 
ship." They  ate  together,  prayed  together,  spent  much 
of  the  time  together.  It  was  a  genuine  brotherhood  that 
the  witnesses  and  preachers  of  Christ  offered  to  those  who 
accepted  him  as  Lord.  This  fellowship  was  expressed  in  a 
very  profound  sense  of  stewardship  of  their  possessions. 
They  no  longer  looked  upon  house,  field,  or  the  little  hoard 
kept  for  the  necessities  of  old  age,  as  their  individual  prop- 
erty. He  who  had  possessions  and  goods  sold  them  and 
shared  the  money  freely  with  those  of  his  brethren  who  were 
in  need.  Looking  to  the  speedy  advent  of  Christ,  their 
souls  were  free  from  sordid  cares,  and  property  became  to 
them  something  not  to  be  owned  but  to  be  used.  As  the 
numbers  of  disciples  increased,  many  made  the  apostles  the 
custodians  of  the  funds  to  be  administered  for  the  common 
good.  The  first  months  of  this  new  age  were  quickened  by 
a  rare  and  glowing  sense  that  men  are  brothers  when  they 
are  truly  men. 

The  Growth  of  Religious  Fellowship. — This  fellowship 
was  rooted  in  a  quickened  religious  experience.  It  is  a 
great  thing  to  pray  together.    Note  the  fine  fellowship  ex- 


i  History  0/  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  I,  pages  235-41. 

17 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

pressed  in  the  prayer  of  Acts  4.  24-30.  Such  praying  was 
a  daily  experience  (Acts  2.  42).  It  grew  out  of  the  new 
fellowship  and  in  turn  drew  the  Christian  believers  into  a 
closer  bond.  Together  they  celebrated  the  Supper  of  the 
Lord  (Acts  2.  42,  46).  Undoubtedly  in  those  first  days 
of  high  enthusiasm  groups  of  Christians  very  frequently  ate 
together,  and  all  such  common  meals  wore  rich  sanctity 
as  they  talked  together,  looked  forward  to  the  coming  again 
of  Jesus,  and  recalled  the  wonderful  happenings  of  the 
earthly  ministry  of  Jesus.  The  apostles  were  called  upon 
to  tell  over  and  over  all  that  Jesus  had  said  and  done,  and 
many  a  splendid  glorious  hour  was  spent  in  hearing  these 
personal  witnesses  repeat  and  enlarge  this  story. 

The  Increase  in  Meaning  and  Value  of  Life. — Every 
student  must  feel  the  thrilling  heightening  of  life  within 
these  early-Christian  circles.  Life  suddenly  was  thrust 
full  of  meaning  and  value.  These  men  and  women  were 
conscious  of  the  presence  of  God  in  their  lives.  They  had 
come  into  a  great  vision :  they  were  the  sharers  of  a  mighty 
destiny.  Life  suddenly  flung  open  before  them  a  door  into 
vast  untraversed  realms,  and  they  were  responding  to  its 
summons  with  unique  spiritual  exaltation  and  joy.  It  was 
an  age  of  unparalleled  gladness.  All  of  life  revealed  the 
same  exultation.  Life  had  come  to  its  own  in  them,  and 
they  broke  free  from  earth's  customary  enthralling  fears. 
They  had  won  for  themselves  a  new  world. 

The  Relation  of  the  New  Movement  to  Judaism 

The  Messianic  Hope  Jewish. — Recall  all  that  was  said 
by  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  all  that  he  said  to  the 
crowd  in  Solomon's  Porch,  all  that  he  said  to  the  San- 
hedrin,  and  the  words  of  the  prayer  recorded  in  Acts 
4.  24-30,  and  decide  whether  or  not  the  one  outstanding 
demand  of  these  witnesses  of  Jesus  was  that  he  should  be 
recognized  and  acknowledged  as  Messiah.  Keeping  in 
mind  that  the  Messianic  hope  was  a  Jewish  hope,  is  it  fair 
to  say  that  these  first  Christians  completely  lived  and 
thought  within  the  boundaries  of  the  Jewish  world?  In 
the  light  of  Jesus'  statement  "Think  not  that  I  came  to 

18 


THE  FIRST  CHEISTIAN  COMMUNITY 

destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets :  I  came  not  to  destroy,  but 
to  fulfil/'  what  part  of  Judaistic  religious  belief  and  prac- 
tice could  these  primitive  Christians  think  was  now  set 
aside?  Would  the  acknowledgment  of  Jesus  as  Messiah 
create  in  these  men  the  feeling  that  they  were  at  liberty 
to  neglect  any  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  Judaism? 
Jewish  religious  life  at  this  time  centered  in  the  Temple 
and  synagogue.  Read  Luke  24.  53;  Acts  2.  46;  3.  1,  11; 
6.  42,  and  state  what  the  attitude  of  the  early  Christians 
toward  the  Temple  service  was.  The  ninth  hour  (3  p.  m.) 
was  the  time  of  the  evening  sacrifice.  While  the  burnt 
offering  was  being  sacrificed,  the  Levites  accompanied  its 
presentation  with  instrumental  music  and  singing.  At 
certain  pauses  in  their  music  the  assembled  people  were 
summoned  to  prayer  by  two  priests  with  silver  trumpets. 
It  is  not  likely  that  these  first  Christians,  certainly  gathered 
from  the  more  devout  Jews,  neglected  any  of  the  ordinary 
Jewish  rites  and  ceremonies.  During  these  first  days,  until 
persecution  began  to  alienate  the  Christian  community  from 
their  Jewish  brethren,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
discipleship  with  Christ  led  his  followers  not  to  a  loosening 
of  Jewish  ties  but  to  a  more  devout  and  earnest  practice  of 
Jewish  ritual  and  law. 

The  Messianic  Office  and  Character  of  Jesus  Emphasized. 
— The  first  Christians  were  Jews  who  had  found  in  Jesus 
the  long-dreamed-of  Messiah.  It  was  the  Messianic  office 
and  character  of  Jesus  which  stood  out  in  their  thought 
of  him  in  the  first  days  of  the  church.  It  was  only  as  time 
passed  and  they  were  thrown  by  the  delay  of  his  coming 
again  more  and*^  more  upon  their  memory  of  his  words  and 
deeds  that  they  realized  that  his  gospel  had  to  burst  its 
Jewish  shell  to  live. 

Summaby:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  Kingdom  Centers  in  Jesus. — These  first  days  of  the 
Christian  Church  settled  once  for  all  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  centers  in  Jesus.  Within  Jewish  Christian  circles 
Jesus  has  become  the  long-expected  Messiah.  This  recogni- 
tion of  his  Messianic  office  and  character  stamps  forever 

19 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEEORMERS 

into  Christian  thought  the  fact  that  all  Kingdom  progress 
is  vitally  related  to  Jesus  Christ.  He  lives  ever  afterward 
at  the  heart  of  every  advance  to  inaugurate  in  human  life 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

Personal  Religious  Experience  Essential. — Also,  it  was 
settled  definitely  that  henceforth  men  and  women  with  a 
passion  for  God's  kingdom  are  uniquely  conscious  of  God's 
presence  in  their  lives.  Whoever  sets  himself  to  a  King- 
dom task  may  look  confidently  to  the  quickening  of  his  life 
by  the  living  God.  We  may  not  understand  this  mystery, 
but  the  fact  remains  that  men  do  attain  a  rich  spiritual 
heightening  of  life  which  is  best  accounted  for  by  believing 
that  God  has  in  some  fashion  come  into  more  than  the  first 
creative  touch  with  their  souls. 

Human  Brotherhood  an  Actuality. — We  see  in  these  first 
days  of  the  church,  too,  that  when  the  inner  life  comes  to 
its  own,  human  brotherhood  becomes  a  rich  actuality.  When 
the  stress  upon  property  was  lessened,  the  barriers  fell 
between  individuals,  and  the  Christian  believers  experi- 
enced a  rare  communal  life.  However  fleeting  this  ideal  of 
fraternity,  it  points  the  way  for  greater  triumphs  of  Chris- 
tian social  solidarity. 

Highways  to  the  Heart 

"It  Is  Not  for  You  to  Know  Times  or  Seasons." — How 

we  covet  the  details  of  God's  providence  for  us !  Yet  how 
little  it  would  contribute  to  life  to  possess  a  blue  print  of 
the  future  !  To  anticipate  a  sorrow  or  a  burden  is  to  double 
its  load,  and  to  calculate  the  hour  of  a  joy's  arrival  is  to 
miss  the  pleasure  of  its  surprise.  To  know  the  day  of  the 
distant  event  would  end  in  forgetting  Him  who  orders  all 
our  lives.  It  is  better  to  trust  to  God's  guidance  each  day 
than  to  seek  a  survey  of  the  far-off  years.  No  palmister 
can  pronounce  upon  the  progress  of  the  soul. 

"Ye  Shall  Receive  Power." — What  is  the  source  of  life's 
strength  and  joy?  Is  it  wealth,  rulership,  or  applause? 
Is  it  not  the  consciousness  that  life  within  us  is  not  at  the 
mercy  of  things  without  but,  rather,  is  united  to  the  spirit- 
ual source  of  the  world's  being — even  to  God?    Is  it  hard 

20 


THE  FIEST  CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITY 

to  keep  sweet,  honest,  or  pure?  Is  your  Christian  experi- 
ence a  sad  mixture  of  partial  victory  and  much  defeat? 
Do  you  stand  at  the  threshold  of  Christian  discipleship, 
not  yet  daring  the  great  adventure  ?  Then  remember  that 
God  is  power  and  that  he  is  knocking  at  every  man's  door. 
Give  him  the  chance  to  dwell  in  your  soul. 

*Te  Shall  Be  My  Witnesses." — This  is  not  a  command 
but  an  opportunity  to  enter  into  life.  It  is  the  chance  to  be- 
come oneself.  Only  that  which  we  can  declare  do  we  know. 
Many  a  man's  ideals  would  flare  the  brighter  were  he  to 
speak  of  them  to  others.  Any  man's  Saviour  would  be  the 
dearer  and  the  greater  were  he  to  speak  forth  gladly  what 
the  church  means  to  him.  Every  moral  conviction  is  given 
power  in  speech.  Be  a  personal  evangelist  and  win  a 
Kingdom. 

"Your  Old  Men  Shall  Dream  Dreams." — Do  you  know  of 
any  greater  triumph  ?  To  come  to  the  last  years  with  hopes 
blazing  like  a  June  sunrise  and  soul  afire  with  visions  of 
Kingdom  conquests  is  the  finest  of  life's  achievements.  You 
who  are  crowned  with  age,  cheer  us  with  your  ^The  best  is 
yet  to  be."  Keep  your  life  open  to  God,  and  there  shall 
be  no  end  to  the  dreaming  of  your  soul.  To  cease  believing 
in  a  golden  age  makes  the  better  day  impossible.  To  see 
no  waiting  heaven  takes  the  royal  glow  out  of  every  day  of 
earth. 

''They  Began  to  Speak  With  Other  Tongues." — We  al- 
ways do  so  when  God  comes  into  our  lives.  We  who  spoke 
in  anger  now  speak  in  love.  We  who  used  cruel  words  find 
gentle  answers  now.  The  impure  now  speak  of  purity,  the 
vulgar  know  no  more  vulgarity,  the  man  of  lies  finds  truth 
a  greater  weapon,  the  social  butterfiy  is  no  longer  limited 
to  vaudeville,  cards,  and  dance  for  conversation  material. 
The  man  once  absorbed  in  business  has  found  a  livelier 
theme.  Our  common  tongues  never  attract  the  crowd. 
When  we  begin  to  use  the  new  tongues  learned  in  a  Spirit- 
filled  life  we  have  auditors. 

*'Not  One  .  .  .  Said  That  .  .  .  Which  He  Possessed 
Was  His  Own. — Thirtieth-century  wisdom  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Christian  age !    Will  it  take  ten  centuries  more 

21 


APOSTLES,  FATHEKS,  AND  REFOKMERS 

of  war,  competitive  trade,  heartless  indifference  to  others' 
welfare,  to  learn  the  Christian  lesson  of  brotherhood  and 
stewardship  ?  God  forbid.  The  world  is  sick  of  ownership 
as  the  expression  of  man's  relation  to  property.  Field  and 
factory  are  to  be  used,  not  owned ;  to  be  put  at  the  service 
of  mankind,  not  to  be  possessed.  No  man  has  the  moral 
right  to  say  that  the  thing  which  he  possesses  is  his  own. 
He  is  God's  steward.  Stewardship  of  property — ^wealth 
held  in  trust  for  all  men — is  fundamental  to  any  right  and 
peaceful  adjustment  of  our  complex  and  often  bitter  and 
unjust  social  relations.  Become  God's  steward  and  in  rec- 
ognition of  your  stewardship  set  apart  at  least  one  tenth 
of  your  income  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  Wherein  lay  the  disciples'  diflBculty  in  seeing  success  in 
the  death  of  Jesus? 

2.  How  were  they  influenced  by  the  prevalent  Jewish  con- 
ception of  the  Kingdom? 

3.  Show  how  the  first  weeks  of  the  early  church  demon- 
strated that  the  coming  Kingdom  centers  in  Jesus. 

4.  In  what  ways  did  the  experiences  of  those  days  contrib- 
ute to  the  progress  of  the  Kingdom? 

5.  Why  is  a  consciousness  of  God's  presence  in  the  life  a 
necessary  warrant  for  proclaiming  a  passion  for  the  King- 
dom? 

6.  Why  was  the  new  basis  of  fellowship  among  the  believers 
enduring? 

7.  Explain  the  circumstances  which  gave  the  communal  life 
of  the  early  church  its  impetus. 

8.  How  far  are  the  forms  of  church  government  developed 
in  those  days  binding  on  the  church  of  to-day? 

9.  What  is  the  relationship  between  a  man's  religion  and 
his  material  possessions? 

Reading  References 

A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  McGilfert, 
pages  37-81. 

The  Church  of  the  Apostles,  Ragg,  pages  38-48. 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  I,  pages 
225-45. 

The  Messianic  Hope  of  the  New  Testament,  Matthews, 
pages  137-50. 


CHAPTEK  II 

THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN^  LEADEKS 

The  spread  of  Christianity  throughout  Judaism  and 
into  the  Gentile  world  was  a  social  movement  of  extraor- 
dinary vitality  and  unusual  significance.  This  great 
social  movement,  like  others,  had  its  leaders.  The  present 
chapter  is  a  study  of  the  three  foremost  leaders  of  earliest 
Christianity. 

Peter 

A  Leader  and  Spokesman. — Read  again  Acts,  chapters  1 
to  4,  and  observe  the  prominence  of  Peter  in  the  events 
that  cluster  around  Pentecost.  Only  a  few  weeks  before, 
Peter  denied  any  knowledge  of  Jesus.  What  does  his 
leadership  in  these  first  days  witness  to  his  native  qualities 
of  prompt  thought  and  action?  What  evidence  does  this 
same  situation  offer  of  some  unique  experience  with  the 
risen  Lord  ?  See  1  Corinthians  15.  5.  State  the  occasions 
in  these  four  chapters  in  which  Peter  appears  the  leader 
and  spokesman  of  the  early  church.  Examine  Acts  5.  1-12, 
15,  29;  8.  14-25;  10.  1-48;  12.  1-4;  15.  6-12;  Galatians 
1.  18;  2.  7.  In  all  these  references  Peter  appears  as  the 
foremost  representative  of  the  church  at  Jerusalem  and  of 
the  Jewish  Christianity  that  emanated  from  the  labors  of 
the  apostles.  It  is  Peter  who  suggests  that  a  successor  to 
Judas  be  appointed;  he  is  the  preacher  of  Pentecost;  he 
performs  the  first  miracle ;  he  proclaims  the  Christian  faith 
in  Solomon's  Porch;  he  and  John  are  the  first  to  suffer 
persecution;  he  defends  the  new  community  before  the 
Sanhedrin;  he  rebukes  Ananias  and  Sapphira  for  their 
hypocrisy;  he  is  the  first  choice  of  the  apostles  to  inspect 
the  spread  of  Christianity  in  Samaria ;  he  is  the  first  of  the 
apostles  to  see  that  Christianity  is  more  than  a  Jewish 
sect;  Paul  visits  him  as  the  most  representative  of  the 

23 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

apostles;  Herod  sentences  him  to  death  as  the  head  of  the 
Jerusalem  church;  and  despite  the  presidency  of  James, 
Peter  occupies  the  foremost  place  in  the  council  of  Jeru- 
salem. 

His  Qualifications  for  Leadership. — What  light  is  thrown 
upon  this  position  of  leadership  by  Matthew  16.  18,  19; 
Mark  16.  7;  John  21.  15-17?  Did  Jesus  choose  Peter  for 
his  unique  place  of  leadership  in  Jewish  Christianity? 
What  characteristics  in  Peter  elevated  him  to  this  place  of 
leadership  ?  Peter  was  born  probably  at  Bethsaida,  a  fish- 
ing town  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  sea  of  Galilee.  His 
father,  Jonas,  was  a  fisherman.  At  the  time  Jesus  began 
his  ministry  Peter  was  married  and  living  at  Capernaum 
(Mark  1.  29)  and  with  Andrew  his  brother  engaged  in  the 
fishing  industry.  Before  Jesus  began  his  ministry  Peter 
and  Andrew  had  been  stirred  by  the  reform  movement  of 
John  the  Baptist  and  had  followed  the  crowds  to  the  Jordan 
and  enrolled  as  John's  disciples  (John  1.  35-42) .  An  uned- 
ucated peasant  of  Galilee  (Acts  4.  13),  a  man  of  humble 
and  laborious  toil,  there  yet  gleamed  within  his  soul  the 
Messianic  dream;  and  once  the  assurance  possessed  him 
that  the  Messiah  had  come,  Peter  became  the  undaunted 
prophet  of  the  new  world  order. 

His  Leadership  Based  on  Cluick  Spiritual  Perception  and 
Courageous  Utterance. — There  was  a  quick  spiritual  per- 
ception and  a  courageous  utterance  about  Peter  which 
conferred  leadership  upon  him.  He  voiced  the  deathless 
devotion  of  the  Twelve  at  the  Capernaum  s3magogue  (John 
6.  68) ;  he  was  the  first  to  feel  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus 
(Matthew  16.  16) ;  he  alone  drew  sword  to  protect  his 
betrayed  Master  (John  18.  10)  ;  and  he  alone,  alas!  openly 
denied  knowledge  of  Jesus.  But  he  alone,  also,  impelled  by 
his  love  and  imperilled  by  his  Galilean  accent,  ventured 
into  the  death-dealing  trap  of  the  high  priest's  residence. 
Vision,  love,  service, — are  not  these  the  elements  of  Peter's 
greatness?  It  was  Peter  who  first  awakened  from  bewil- 
derment and  dismay  over  the  crucifixion  to  proclaim  Jesus 
still  his  people's  Christ.  He  loved  his  Master  devotedly. 
For  him  Peter  had  left  all — home,  family,  and  business. 

24 


THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  LEADERS 

He  became  the  great  missionary  of  Jewish  Christianity 
(Galatians  2.  7,  8)  and  a  homeless  wanderer  for  his  Lord. 
During  the  last  half  of  his  life,  a  period  of  thirty  years 
or  more,  Peter  was  a  tireless  evangelist,  a  leading  figure, 
the  chief  apostle  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the  Jewish 
world. 

His  Later  Years. — Little  is  known  of  these  later  years. 
At  least  once  he  set  out  alone  upon  a  tour  of  evangelization 
and  visited  Lydda,  Joppa,  and  Caesarea.  On  some  of  his 
missionary  tours  he  was  accompanied  by  his  wife  (1  Corin- 
thians 9.  5).  He  was  at  Antioch  (Galatians  2.  11)  and 
may  have  been  at  Corinth.^  The  tradition  that  Peter 
labored  for  some  time  in  Rome  and  there  suffered  martyr- 
dom is  an  early  and  frequently  repeated  statement  of  the 
church  fathers  of  the  first  four  Christian  centuries.  Peter 
was  crucified  probably  by  the  orders  of  Nero. 

Stephen 

The  New  Office  of  Deacon.— Examine  Acts  6.  1-7.  Ob- 
serve that  a  new  office  is  created  in  the  church.  What  con- 
ditions required  the  appointment  of  "the  seven"?  What 
was  their  task?  What  qualifications  were  required  in 
them  ?  Observe  the  manner  in  which  they  were  chosen  and 
set  apart  for  their  task  and  (verse  7)  state  the  result  of 
their  labors. 

Larger  Than  His  Office. — Observe  that  two  of  these  ap- 
pointees served  a  larger  purpose  than  to  oversee  the  equi- 
table distribution  of  Christian  charity.  This  was,  of  course, 
no  mean  service  in  itself.  The  Grecian  Jews  were  Jews 
from  Greek-speaking  provinces,  who,  through  a  temporary 
or  permanent  residence  in  Jerusalem,  had  come  into  con- 
tact with  the  rising  Christianity.  Palestinian  Jews,  who 
had  not  drifted  for  any  reason  into  distant  cities,  felt 
themselves  a  little  superior  to  their  Greek  brethren.  It 
was  therefore  no  trifling  service  to  quiet  these  jealousies 
and  to  unite  the  whole  Christian  group  into  one  harmonious 
life.    Yet  at  least  Stephen  and  Philip,  who  probably  them- 

» Church  History,  Eusebius,  Volume  II,  Chapter  XXV;  and  1  Corinthians  1.  12. 

25 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

selves  were  Hellenist  Jews,  felt  called  to  add  to  their  labors 
the  sharing  with  the  apostles  of  "the  ministry  of  the  word/' 
Read  Acts  6.  8-10;  8.  5-13,  and  note  that,  with  the  one 
exception  of  "the  laying  on  of  hands,"  through  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  given  (Acts  8.  18),  Stephen  and  Philip 
exercised  all  the  functions  of  the  Twelve.  The  fact  that 
Stephen  took  upon  himself  this  apostolic  function  was  a 
declaration  to  the  church  that  the  gospel  was  more  than  a 
Jerusalem  movement:  it  had  in  it  the  elements  of  uni- 
versal life.  This  is  the  first  instance  of  independent  action 
in  the  church :  the  first  assurance  that  the  risen  Lord  was 
intending  that  the  propagation  of  his  gospel  was  to  be  more 
than  the  privilege  of  an  apostolic  hierarchy. 

Preached  in  the  Synagogue. — Like  Paul,  Stephen  pro- 
claimed the  gospel  in  the  synagogue.  His  audiences  were 
the  Greek-speaking  Jews  (Acts  6.  8).  We  do  not  know 
the  details  of  his  message.  But,  like  Peter,  he  must  have 
preached  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  crucified  and  raised  from 
the  dead,  was  the  Messiah.  Like  the  Twelve,  he  must 
have  proclaimed  the  near  approach  of  the  Messianic  King- 
dom. Unlike  the  apostles,  he  must  have  stressed  the  rela- 
tive unimportance  of  the  Temple  and  the  law.  Jesus  had 
predicted  a  destruction  of  the  Temple  (Matthew  24.  2), 
and  his  disciples  had  interpreted  this  to  mean  that  in  the 
Messianic  Kingdom  there  would  be  no  use  for  the  Temple 
(Matthew  24.  3).  The  proclamation  that  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth was  the  Messiah  had  aroused  little  or  no  antagonism 
up  to  this  time.  Some  new  element  was  introduced  into 
the  gospel  preaching  by  Stephen.  It  is  quite  likely  that  he, 
catching  more  of  the  spiritual  message  of  Jesus  than  the 
apostolic  preaching  had  grasped,  was  beginning  to  em- 
phasize its  freedom  from  Jewish  ritual.  This  new  emphasis 
aroused  the  hostility  of  the  Jews. 

The  Charges  Against  Stephen. — Note  the  charges  against 
Stephen  (Acts  6.  13,  14).  Read  closely  Stephen's  address 
and  determine  whether  Stephen  denies  the  accusation  that 
he  had  preached  a  destruction  of  the  Temple  and  an  abro- 
gation of  Jewish  law.  Two  divergent  views  are  held  con- 
cerning this  address:  (1)  Stephen  seeks  to  prove  that  hQ 

26 


THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  LEADERS 

and  his  fellow  Christians  have  shown  no  disrespect  to  the 
Temple  and  the  law,  but,  on  the  contrary,  his  accusers  and 
all  non-Christian  Jews  of  the  day  are  the  real  violators  of 
God^s  ordinances;  (2)  Stephen  virtually  accepts  the  truth 
of  the  accusation  and  seeks  to  show,  especially  in  regard 
to  the  Temple,  that  neither  in  the  past  nor  in  the  Messianic 
Kingdom  are  the  Temple  and  its  ritual  an  expression  of 
God's  will. 

Two  Interpretations  of  Stephen's  Address. — (1)  If  the 
first  interpretation  is  accepted,  the  following  is  Stephen's 
argument:  Israel's  history  is  a  history  of  unbelief,  igno- 
rance, and  opposition  to  the  will  of  God.  The  Hebrews  (a) 
refused  to  follow  the  leadership  of  Moses,  who  sought  to 
lead  them  from  Egypt  into  Canaan,  their  true  home  (Acts 
7.  24-28) ;  {h)  refused  to  obey  Moses  at  Sinai,  were  deter- 
mined to  return  to  Egypt;  besought  Aaron  for  gods  (Acts 
7.  39-43) ;  killed  the  prophets  who  predicted  the  Messianic 
age  (Acts  7.  52) ;  at  last  Israel  has  put  to  death  the  Right- 
eous One,  the  one  who  really  fulfilled  the  law.  (2)  If 
the  second  view  is  followed,  this  history  of  rebellion  cli- 
maxes in  the  building  of  the  Temple,  an  act  unauthorized 
by  God  (Acts  7.  47-50).  If  Stephen  was  now  attempting 
to  cast  doubt  upon  the  Temple  and  its  ritual  as  divinely 
ordained,  he  had  arrived  at  a  view  of  Judaism  wherein, 
perceiving  the  incidental  and  temporary  character  of  Tem- 
ple worship  and  Mosaic  law,  he  became  the  glorious  fore- 
runner of  Paul  in  discerning  the  equality  of  Jew  and 
Gentile  in  the  church  of  God.  Surely  both  of  these  views 
may  have  been  held  by  Stephen.  Undoubtedly  he  felt  that 
his  accusers  were  disloyal  to  the  will  of  God  (Acts  7.  41)  ; 
and  he  may  have  felt  truly  that  the  kingdom  that  Jesus  pro- 
claimed was  a  far  more  spiritual  and  universal  rule  than 
current  Judaism  desired  in  its  Messianic  longing.  Stephen 
thus  becomes  a  notable  figure  in  the  apostolic  church  and 
occupies  a  significant  post  in  the  developing  kingdom  of 
God. 

Stephen's  Death  the  Beginning  of  the  Persecution  of 
the  Christians. — The  successful  silencing  of  Stephen  was 
the  beginning  of  an  attack  upon  the  Christians  which  scat- 

27 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

tered  them  far  and  wide.  The  first  preaching  in  Samaria 
(Acts  8.  4-25)  and  Philip's  preaching  in  some  of  the  coast 
towns  (Acts  8.  40)  are  incidents  typical  of  the  general 
spread  of  Christianity  at  this  period.  Lydda,  Joppa, 
Phoenician  coast  towns,  and  Antioch  and  Cyprus  also  cer- 
tainly were  reached  at  this  time. 

Paul 

His  Birthplace  and  Roman  Citizenship. — Paul  was  born 
at  Tarsus,  an  important  city  of  Cilicia  in  Asia  Minor. 
PauPs  boast  about  his  birthplace  is  well  founded  (Acts 
21.  39).  Strabo,  who  visited  Tarsus  at  about  the  time 
Paul  was  born,  speaks  in  highest  praise  of  the  city's  polit- 
ical and  intellectual  life.  This  writer  states  that  Tarsus 
furnished  a  Stoic  philospher  for  the  household  of  Marcus 
Cato  and  another  who  was  the  preceptor  of  Augustus 
Caesar;  and,  after  giving  a  list  of  Tarsian  grammarians, 
philosophers,  and  poets,  he  continues,  "Rome  is  best  able 
to  inform  us  what  number  of  learned  men  this  city  has 
produced,  for  it  is  filled  with  persons  from  Tarsus  and 
Alexandria."  Tarsus  also  was  a  center  for  the  manu- 
facture of  goat's-hair  fabric,  famed  for  durability.  From 
such  cloth  were  made  shoes,  mats,  tents,  and  coverings  of 
all  kinds.  Tarsus,  from  the  year  171  b.  c.^  was  preemi- 
nently a  Greek  city.  Politically  it  was  a  city-state.  It  gov- 
erned itself  through  its  own  elective  magistrates  and  issued 
its  own  coins.  Greek  was  the  prevailing  language.  In 
47  B.  c.  Julius  Caeesar  visited  Tarsus,  and  in  42  it 
was  given  the  status  of  a  free  city  of  the  empire  by  An- 
tony,2  ^jiQ  resided  here  some  time.  Numerous  Jews  were 
to  be  found  in  Tarsus  for  nearly  two  centuries  before  the 
birth  of  Paul.  Paul  was  a  citizen  of  Tarsus  (Acts  21.  39). 
His  ancestors  were  probably  Tarsian  citizens  from  171 
B.  c. ;  and  when  the  city  became  a  part  of  the  empire,  this 
citizenship,  achieved  under  Greek  rule,  was  recognized  by 
Rome.  Read  Acts  16.  37-39;  22.  24-29;  23.  26-30;  28.  19, 
and  state  the  value  of  Roman  citizenship  to  Paul. 

*  See  Plutarch's  Life  of  Antony  for   a  description  of  the  famous  meeting  of 
Cleopatra  and  Antony  at  Tarsus. 

28 


THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  LEADERS 

Primarily  a  Jew. — Although  Paul  lived  in  a  Greek  city 
and  shared  the  dignity  and  privileges  of  Roman  citizen- 
ship he  vras  primarily  a  Jew.  His  parents  were  strict  Jews. 
Examine  Philippians  3.  5,  6;  Galatians  1.  13,  14;  Romans 
11.  1;  Acts  22.  3;  26.  9-11,  and  state  fully  the  evidence 
for  PauFs  Jewish  ancestry,  education,  ideals,  sympathies, 
and  life  purposes.  Paul's  life  was  dominated  preeminently 
by  his  Jewish  blood  and  education.  Even  after  he  long  had 
been  committed  to  his  Gentilic  ministry,  the  currents  of 
Jewish  sympathy  ran  deep  in  his  nature  (Ronians  3.  1,  2; 
9.  4,  5;  11.  13-28).  Almost  nothing  is  known  of  Paul's 
family.  The  devoutness  of  his  parents  early  urged  them  to 
give  Paul  the  best  possible  Jewish  education.  He  was  sent 
to  Jerusalem,  where  at  this  time  his  married  sister  may 
have  been  living  (Acts  23.  16).  He  spent  several  years  in 
Jerusalem  and  was  trained  in  the  school  of  Gamaliel. 
Read  Acts  5.  34-39  for  an  indication  of  the  character  and 
position  of  Gamaliel.  Such  teachers  in  Jerusalem  usually 
met  their  pupils  in  the  courts  of  the  Temple.  The  instruc- 
tion in  such  a  school  consisted  of  passages  from  the  written 
law  with  their  traditional  oral  interpretations.  These  were 
committed  to  memory,  A  well-trained  student  could  keep 
faithfully  in  memory  many  thousands  of  these  decisions. 
Since  the  scribes — students  whose  fitness  to  teach  was 
vouched  for  by  a  rabbi — were  frequently  members  of  courts 
or  were  consulted  by  courts  concerning  the  administration 
of  law,  Paul  no  doubt  remained  in  the  school  of  Gamaliel 
until  he  was  recognized  as  a  teacher.  See  Acts  7.  58 ;  8.  1 ; 
26.  10;  Galatians  1.  14. 

His  Zeal  for  Judaism. — Examine  Acts  7.  58;  8.  1-3; 
9.  13;  26.  9-11;  Galatians  1.  13.  Paul  voted  for  Stephen's 
death  and  was  a  close  witness  of  his  martyrdom.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  he  was  one  of  those  who  disputed  with 
Stephen  in  the  synagogue  of  the  Cilicians  (Acts  6.  9).  He 
could  not  brook  the  spiritual  and  universal  elements  of 
religion  fundamentally  inimical  to  Jewish  doctrine.  Ap- 
parently he  devoted  his  life  to  stamping  out  the  new  sect. 
Paul  had  a  prominent  part  in  the  persecution  that  followed 
Stephen's  death  (Acts  8.  3;  Galatians  1.  13).    He  arrested 

29 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

Christians  in  their  homes,  dragged  them  to  the  synagogues 
for  punishment,  strove  to  make  them  blaspheme,  im- 
prisoned both  men  and  women,  and  voted  for  their  death. 
After  the  church  in  Jerusalem  was  wasted,  he  was  commis- 
sioned by  the  Jewish  authorities  to  pursue  the  scattered 
Christians  to  distant  cities  and  to  bring  to  Jerusalem  for 
punishment  those  whom  he  apprehended.  The  fear  of  Paul 
had  traveled  to  Damascus  (Acts  9.  13) ;  and  after  PauPs 
activities  ceased,  the  Christians  were  able  to  travel  unmo- 
lested (Acts  9.  31). 

His  Conversion. — PauFs  change  from  an  ardent  perse- 
cuting Pharisee  into  a  bold  and  tireless  advocate  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  one  of  the  world's  most  remarkable  transforma- 
tions. Galatians  1.  13-17  is  the  earliest  written  account 
of  this  striking  reversal  of  PauFs  life.  This  account  is 
limited  to  the  essential  statement  that  God  revealed  his 
Son  in  Paul.  That  is,  Jesus,  the  crucified  leader  of  the 
Christians,  is  indeed  the  Messiah  and  God's  own  Son,  and 
this  Christ  of  heaven  has  entered  into  Paul's  own  life,  so 
that  he  no  longer  seems  to  live,  but  Christ  himself  lives  in 
him.  "I  have  been  crucified  with  Christ;  and  it  is  no  longer 
I  that  live,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me"  (Galatians  2.  20). 
This  wonderful  and  glorious  change  in  Paul's  life  took 
place  near  Damascus.  The  story  of  his  experience  is  told 
three  times  in  Acts  (9.  1-9;  22.  6-16;  26.  12-18;  see  also 
1  Corinthians  9.  1;  15.  8). 

His  New  Apprehension  of  the  Will  of  God. — Recall  the 
various  references  to  Paul's  life  and  observe  that  Paul 
was  not  conscious  of  evil  living  before  his  conversion.  He 
was  no  more  zealous  for  God  and  righteousness  after  this 
revolutionary  change  of  his  life  than  he  was  before;  but 
he  now  apprehended  better  the  will  and  purposes  of  God. 
Paul's  conversion  involved  at  least  the  entrance  into  his 
life  of  new  elements,  partly  intellectual,  partly  mystical: 
(1)  He  was  convinced  that  Jesus  was  risen  from  the  dead 
(1  Corinthians  9.  1;  15.  8,  15) ;  (2)  he  now  held  the  unas- 
sailable conviction  that  the  crucified  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is 
indeed  the  Christ — that  is,  the  Messiah  (1  Corinthians  1. 
23;  Galatians  2.  20)  and  the  Son  of  God  (Galatians  1. 16) ; 

30 


THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  LEADERS 

(3)  the  assurance  that  the  most  rigorous  observance  of 
Jewish  law  did  not  satisfy  an  earnest  soul's  craving  for 
righteousness  and  holiness  (Galatians  2.  19;  Romans  7. 
7-25;  8.  1-3) ;  (4)  the  experience  of  a  new,  wonderful  life 
mediated  to  him  by  the  presence  of  Christ  within  him 
(Galatians  2.  20;  Romans  8.  9-11;  Colossians  3.  1-4); 
(5)  the  belief  that  it  had  been  God's  purpose  in  his  birth 
and  now  in  his  conversion  to  send  him  forth  into  Gentile 
lands  as  the  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  (Galatians  1.  15,  16; 
Acts  26.  16-18). 

His  Further  Preparation. — Examine  carefully  Acts  9. 
18-30;  11.  25,  26;  15.  41;  Galatians  1.  16-19.  These 
verses  permit  the  following  reconstruction  of  the  next  four- 
teen years  of  PauPs  life.  After  his  baptism  by  Ananias 
in  Damascus,  he  tarried  a  short  time  in  the  city  and  told 
in  the  synagogue  his  wonderful  experience.  Then  he  with- 
drew into  Arabia.  This  period  of  seclusion  lasted  between 
two  and  three  years.  Returning  to  Damascus,  he  pro- 
claimed boldly  the  Christ,  and  then,  to  escape  a  Jewish 
plot,  was  lowered  from  the  city  wall.  Paul  then  went  to 
Jerusalem,  where  he  met  a  few  of  the  disciples  and  visited 
Peter  fifteen  days.  During  this  brief  visit  he  proclaimed 
the  Christian  faith,  especially  to  the  Greek-speaking  Jews. 
Withdrawing  from  Jerusalem  on  learning  of  a  plot  to  kill 
him,  he  first  went  to  Antioch  and  then  returned  to  his  boy- 
hood home  in  Tarsus.  It  was  probably  at  this  time  that 
he  learned  the  trade  of  tentmaking.  He  also  preached  the 
gospel  through  the  province  of  Cilicia,  of  which  Tarsus  was 
the  capital.  Some  ten  years  were  spent  in  this  manner. 
Then  he  returned  to  Antioch  in  the  company  of  Barnabas. 

Summaky:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  Begrinning  of  the  Break  Between  Judaism  and 
Christianity. — This  lesson  outlines  the  outstanding  events 
and  personalities  of  the  first  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  the 
Christian  Church.  We  see  the  beginning  of  the  break  be- 
tween Judaism  and  Christianity.  It  grows  apparent  to 
men  like  Stephen  and  Paul  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  too 
spiritual  and  too  universal  to  be  a  Jewish  sect  only.    It  was 

31 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

more  democratic  than  the  first  disciples  were  aware.  The 
vitality  of  the  Christian  experience  was  quickened  by  perse- 
cution as  well  as  the  area  of  its  influence  widened.  Suffer- 
ing itself  breathes  a  democratic  atmosphere.  Nothing  more 
useful  could  have  happened  to  the  early  church  to  draw  the 
Christian  community  closer  together  and,  by  alienating  it 
from  the  strictest  Judaism,  to  enlarge  its  sympathy  for 
the  Gentile  world. 

The  Significance  in  Kingdom  Development  of  Individ- 
uals Mastered  by  God  and  Directed  by  His  Will. — The 
change  in  Peter  and,  much  more  strikingly,  in  Paul  wit- 
nesses to  the  marvelous  transformation  wrought  in  a  man's 
interests  by  a  consciousness  of  God.  Intellectual  habits  and 
conceptions,  range  of  emotional  experiences,  intensity  of 
loyalties,  life's  ideals  and  values, — what  expansion  and 
energizing  are  given  them  when  men  hold  conscious  com- 
munion with  the  living  God !  This  study  of  these  three 
leaders  settles  the  significance  in  Kingdom  development 
of  individuals  mastered  by  God  and  directed  by  his  will. 

The  Windows  of  the  Soul 

*'We  Cannot  but  Speak  the  Things  We  Saw  and  Heard.'' 

— Nothing  can  check  the  impulsion  of  a  great  spiritual  ex- 
perience. This  is  a  radiant  glory  of  the  early  Christians. 
They  knew  the  risen  Lord.  Such  knowledge  was  too  won- 
derful to  be  silenced  even  by  threatening  authorities.  Oh, 
that  the  day  of  great  spiritual  fellowship  with  God  shall 
come  to  the  modern  church!  What  a  host  of  courageous, 
outspoken,  spiritually  minded,  Christ-devoted  disciples  does 
our  world  need  to-day !  We  moderns  can  be  silenced  by  a 
sneer.  Our  testimony  is  too  feebly  uttered  to  reach  our 
nearest  business  and  social  associate.  To  how  many  of 
your  nearest  acquaintances  have  you  ever  presented  the 
claims  of  Christ  and  witnessed  to  the  reality  of  his  mastery 
by  warm  and  earnest  words  ?  May  God  forgive  your  cow- 
ardly silences  in  the  face  of  so  much  need  of  positive  cer- 
tain testimony. 

"I  See  the  Heavens  Opened." — The  sky  is  never  a  brazen 

32 


THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  LEADERS 

blank  to  a  great  soul.  God  is  never  at  the  far  ends  of 
the  world  when  he  is  sought  even  by  his  least  child.  Ste- 
phen, Peter,  Philip,  Paul,  each  in  his  own  way,  saw  God 
break  through  the  barriers  of  the  visible  to  stand  at  his  side. 
It  was  this  vision  and  this  experience  which  exalted  them 
into  leadership.  In  the  long  run  the  world  will  have  no 
other  leaders.  He  alone  who  sees  the  invisible  can  lead  us 
along  the  tangled  paths  of  our  tangible,  visible  world. 
They  who  know  the  spiritual  highways  become  earth's  safest 
guides. 

"They  That  Were  Scattered  Abroad  Went  Preaching." 
— The  best  way  to  give  life  to  truth  is  to  kill  it.  If  the 
servants  of  the  Kingdom  never  had  been  stoned,  burned, 
beheaded,  and  exiled,  it  would  never  have  triumphed.  It 
is  the  cause  for  which  we  dare  all  that  lives. 

"No  Mean  City." — Tarsus  had  evils  enough  to  gloom  the 
hardiest  optimist.  But  it  had  good  in  it  too.  It  had  pro- 
tected the  Jew  for  two  hundred  years.  It  was  an  educa- 
tional center.  It  gave  citizenship  to  men  of  every  race. 
PauPs  citizenship  was  no  slight  advantage  to  his  ministry. 
Paul  used  his  civic  rights  to  advance  the  kingdom  of  God. 
No  city  is  mean  in  opportunities  for  good.  In  the  modern 
city  suppose  a  follower  of  Christ  were  tremendously  in 
earnest  to  make  Christian  truth  alive:  what  a  wealth  of 
open  doors  in  the  manifold  social  contacts  of  a  city's  life 
would  invite  his  individual  ministry !  The  very  closeness 
of  men  gives  the  ardent  positive  Christian  endless  chances 
to  advance  the  kingdom  of  God. 

"I  Was  Not  Disobedient  to  the  Heavenly  Vision." — This 
is  the  vast  difference  between  men  :  some  obey  the  call  of  the 
larger  truth,  some  cling  to  the  old  path.  To  all  there  come 
flashing  revelations  of  grander  life.  God  does  not  with- 
hold visions  of  the  ought-to-be  from  any  soul.  But  these 
radiant  gleamings  of  nobler  life  call  us  from  something 
grown  dear,  and  we  have  not  within  us  the  spirit  of  adven- 
ture. It  is  a  tragic  thing  to  disobey  a  spiritual  prompting 
to  holier  life.  Life  never  is  quite  so  real  after  the  slightest 
denial  of  a  heavenly  summons.  Shadows  begin  to  close  in 
on  the  man  who  makes  a  start  at  disobeying  God. 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  do  we  know  about  Peter's  life  and  occupation? 

2.  Give  the  reasons  for  Peter's  leadership  in  the  Jerusa- 
lem church. 

3.  What  is  the  value  of  Peter's  contribution  to  the  Christian 
Church? 

4.  To  what  extent  did  Peter  understand  that  Christianity 
was  more  than  a  Jewish  sect? 

5.  What  was  his  connection  with  the  Christian  Church  at 
Rome? 

6.  Discuss  the  work  of  a  deacon  in  the  early  church  and 
show  how  such  an  oflQce  became  necessary. 

7.  Outline  Stephen's  address  of  defense  before  the  San- 
hedrin. 

8.  Point  out  the  significance  of  the  statements  that  caused 
his  death. 

9.  How  did  the  death  of  Stephen  influence  the  orthodox 
Jews  in  their  attitude  toward  the  Christians? 

10.  Discuss  Paul's  birth  and  early  training.  Describe  his 
boyhood.    Tell  what  is  known  of  his  family. 

11.  How  much  did  Tarsian  life  influence  Paul's  character 
and  career?    In  what  way? 

12.  What  part  did  honest  conviction  have  in  Paul's  perse- 
cution of  the  early  Christians?  in  his  conversion? 

13.  What  new  elements  of  the  understanding  of  God's  will 
and  personal  religious  experience  did  Paul  have  after  his 
conversion? 

14.  Where  and  how  did  Paul  spend  the  time  between  his 
conversion  and  the  beginning  of  his  work  at  Antioch? 

15.  Discuss  the  events  that  brought  about  the  beginning  of 
the  break  between  Judaism  and  Christianity. 

16.  What  did  this  break  mean  for  the  progress  of  the 
Kingdom? 

Suggested  Readings 

A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  McGiffert, 
pages  64-81,  85-93,  113-50. 

The  Church  of  the  Apostles,  Ragg,  pages  48-68. 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  1,  pages 
247-56,  286-303. 

Articles  "Peter,"  "Stephen,"  and  "Paul"  in  A  Dictionary  of 
the  Apostolic  Church,  Hastings. 


34 


CHAPTEE  III 

m  THE  STEPS  OF  A  TOURING  MISSIONARY 

The  expansion  of  Christianity  territorially  beyond  Jeru- 
salem could  end  only  in  its  crossing  the  boundaries  of 
Judaism.  Men  of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene,  driven  from  Jerusa- 
lem by  the  persecution  following  the  death  of  Stephen,  on 
coming  to  Antioch  preached  to  non-Jews  with  marked  suc- 
cess. It  was  to  this  growing  Jewish-Gentile  church  that 
Barnabas  brought  Paul  from  Tarsus  (Acts  11.  20-26),  and 
there  he  labored  for  a  full  year.  It  was  this  church  that 
more  than  any  other  stood  upon  the  frontier  between  the 
two  great  divisions  of  the  church  resulting  from  PauPs 
mission  to  the  Gentiles.  From  this  frontier  church,  where 
the  disciples  of  Jesus,  no  doubt  in  derision,  were  first  called 
Christians,  Paul  set  forth  on  those  great  tours  which  revo- 
lutionized the  world.  This  chapter  presents  the  first  and 
the  major  portion  of  the  second  journey  of  Paul  and  nar- 
rates his  advance  into  Galatia,  Macedonia,  and  Greece. 

The  Advance  Into  Cyprus  and  Galatia 

Paul's  New  Commission. — Read  Acts  13.  1-4.    To  Paul 

and  four  others  in  the  Antiochian  church  who  were  prophets 
and  teachers  the  word  of  the  Lord  had  come,  and  they 
were  commissioned  by  that  revelation  to  utter  his  messages. 
At  first  the  apostles  were  the  only  authorized  teachers 
whose  instruction  was  the  basis  of  church  faith  and  unity. 
As  Christianity  spread,  other  devout  and  capable  men  be- 
came the  recognized  instructors  of  new  converts.  Paul 
had  spent  a  year  in  preaching  and  teaching  at  Antioch  but 
he  had  not  forgotten  the  mission  to  which  he  felt  his  con- 
version called  him. 

At  Cyprus.— Read  Acts  13.  5-12.  Note  the  details  of  this 
first  venture,  the  port  of  departure,  the  landing  at  Cyprus, 

35 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

the  members  in  the  party,  and  the  nature  of  the  work  in 
Cyprus.  Observe  that  they  "proclaimed  the  word  of  God" 
in  the  synagogues  of  Salamis.  There  were  at  this  time 
many  Jews  in  the  island.  Barnabas  himself  was  a  Cyprian. 
The  road  to  Paphos,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  miles,  lay 
through  a  fertile  country  and  numerous  towns.  But  they 
seem  to  have  passed  through  the  island  without  further 
preaching  until  they  arrived  at  Paphos,  the  capital.  No 
doubt  here  the  missionaries  spoke  first  in  the  synagogue. 
When  rumor  of  them  was  noised  abroad,  they  were  sum- 
moned by  Sergius  Paulus,  the  proconsul,  to  court.  Being 
"a  man  of  understanding,'^  he  was  desirous  of  hearing  these 
men  whom  he  took  for  traveling  philosophers.  This  was 
the  first  presentation  of  the  gospel  before  the  Roman  aris- 
tocracy and  authorities.  Its  favorable  reception  by  the  pro- 
consul evidently  quickened  the  desire  of  Paul  to  press  on  to 
the  center  of  Roman  life  and  authority. 

At  Antioch  in  Galatia. — Read  Acts  13.  13-52.  It  is  not 
known  what  motives  led  them  from  Perga  to  Antioch.  It 
has  been  conjectured  that  Mark  left  Paul  and  Barnabas 
at  Perga  because  at  this  point  some  striking  change  of  orig- 
inal plans  occurred.  Read  Galatians  4.  13  and  observe  that 
to  some  illness  of  Paul  the  Galatians  owed  his  missionary 
labors  among  them.  Ramsay^  conjectures  that  this  illness 
was  malarial  fever,  whose  germs,  implanted  in  his  system 
on  these  Pamphilian  lowlands  about  Perga,  became  his 
"thorn  in  the  fiesh"  to  torment  him  by  recurring  attacks 
throughout  his  life.  To  get  away  from  the  sickly  coast 
Paul  journeyed  to  Antioch,  situated  ninety  miles  inland 
on  a  southern  spur  of  the  lofty  Sultan  Dagh  Mountains. 
It  has  been  suggested  also  that,  instead  of  evangelizing 
the  coast  towns  of  Pamphilia  and  Cilicia,  the  ambition  of 
Paul  to  present  the  gospel  in  the  great  provincial  centers 
of  the  empire  having  been  fired  by  his  interview  with  Ser- 
gius Paulus,  the  original  plan  was  abandoned,  and  the  mis- 
sionaries struck  north  over  the  Taurus  Mountains  to  reach, 
by  way  of  Antioch,  the  great  highway  running  westward 


^St.  Paul  th9  Traveler,  page  93. 

36 


A  TOURING  MISSIONARY 

through  Asia  Minor  to  Ephesus.  At  Antioch,  because 
Paul  was  stricken  with  illness,  this  ambition  was  frus- 
trated for  the  time.  Is  not  this  latter  view  more  in  har- 
mony with  one^s  general  impression  of  the  genius  of  Paul  ? 

To  the  Synagogue  First. — Here  again  the  missionaries 
turn  first  to  the  synagogue.  What  insight  is  here  given  into 
the  services  of  the  synagogue?  Read  PauPs  address  atten- 
tively and  note  that  he  spoke  to  Jews  and  to  Gentiles  who 
were  accustomed  to  worship  with  Jews.  Numerous  women 
of  prominence  in  the  city  (Acts  13.  50)  were  in  his  audi- 
ence. Observe  that  he  (1)  reviews  the  history  of  the 
Jews  (Acts  13.  17-25),  (2)  proclaims  that  the  crucified 
Jesus  has  been  raised  from  the  dead  and  become  Israel's 
Saviour  and  jMessiah,  and  (3)  offers  remission  of  sins  and 
justification  before  God.  What  was  the  effect  of  this  ad- 
dress? What  statements  in  this  address  would  be  likely 
to  alienate  and  offend  his  Jewish  auditors  ?  to  win  Gentiles  ? 
A  week  passed  during  which  Paul  and  Barnabas  con- 
versed with  many  Jews  and  Gentiles,  so  that  on  the  next 
Sabbath  the  synagogue  was  packed  with  curious  and  eager 
listeners.  After  Paul  had  spoken  at  considerable  length 
on  the  same  subject  as  on  the  previous  Sabbath, 
the  Jews,  disaffected  and  resentful,  sought  to  con- 
tradict and  minimize  the  message.  This  antagonism 
emboldened  the  speakers  to  point  out  that  their  con- 
duct not  only  shut  them  out  of  the  Kingdom  but  impelled 
"Christ's  messengers"  to  offer  freely  the  Messianic  gospel 
to  the  Gentiles.  What  attitude  was  taken  toward  his 
preaching  by  the  Gentiles?  Acts  13.  49  implies  an  ex- 
tended period  of  evangelization  in  the  city  and  community. 
This  prospering  of  the  gospel  finally  aroused  such  Jewish 
hostility  that  either  the  city  officials  were  induced  to  perse- 
cute the  missionaries  by  imprisonment,  or  the  Jewish  syna- 
gogue authorities  may  themselves  have  punished  him  with 
"forty  stripes  save  one"  (Timothy  3.  11;  2  Corinthians  11. 
24).    Finally  they  were  forced  to  leave  the  city. 

Preaching  at  Iconium. — Read  Acts  14.  1-7.  Iconium  was 
a  small  town,  well  built,  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  tract 
of  land  more  fertile  than  the  usual  mountainous  plains  of 

37 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMEES 

Lycaonia.  This  city  was  eighty  miles  southeast  of  Antioch, 
but  lying  within  the  Roman  province  of  Lycaonia.  It  owed 
its  importance  in  PauFs  day  largely  to  its  location  near  the 
great  highway  running  from  Ephesus  to  the  headwaters 
of  the  Euphrates  and  upon  the  road  branching  from  this 
highway  which  extended  southeastward  through  the  Cilician 
gates  to  Antioch  in  Syria.  The  older  inhabitants  were 
Phrygian,  but  the  city's  importance  drew  to  it  Roman 
officials  and  traders  as  well  as  Jewish  merchants.  Here 
at  Iconium,  as  in  the  other  cities,  the  gospel  was 
first  presented  in  the  synagogue,  where  both  Jews  and  de- 
vout Gentiles  heard  the  message.  While  a  numerous  body 
of  Jews  accepted  the  message,  the  rulers  of  the  synagogue, 
custodians  of  Jewish  law,  traditions,  and  customs,  saw 
clearly  the  inevitable  destruction  of  Jewish  worship  in- 
volved in  this  missionary  propaganda.  But  their  perse- 
cution of  Paul  and  Barnabas  accomplished  nothing  for  a 
long  time.  Later  the  Jews  were  able  to  stir  up  a  second 
persecution,  in  the  midst  of  which  Paul  and  Barnabas  fled 
to  Lystra.  An  interesting  tradition  is  preserved  of  this 
persecution  in  the  apocryphal  Acts  of  Paul  and  Thecla, 
written  in  the  second  century.  Thecla  belonged  to  one  of 
the  chief  families  of  Iconium  and  was  affianced  to  Thamy- 
ris,  an  aristocratic  youth  of  the  city.  Thecla,  having  heard 
Paul  preach,  was  inspired  by  a  great  devotion  to  liim  and 
to  the  gospel.  She  refused  to  carry  out  her  marriage 
engagement  and  proposed  remaining  a  virgin  in  order  to 
devote  herself  to  Christian  service.  Thamyris  and  the 
mother  of  Thecla  had  both  Paul  and  Thecla  brought  before 
the  magistrates.  Paul  was  beaten  and  expelled  from  the 
city.  Thecla  was  condemned  to  be  burned  in  the  theater, 
but  she  was  miraculously  preserved  by  a  sudden  downpour 
of  rain.  The  story  at  least  exhibits  a  constant  feature  of 
the  early  persecution  of  Christians  by  the  Gentiles.  They 
were  condemned  chiefly  because  their  beliefs  compelled  a 
direct  break  with  so  much  of  social  life. 

At  Lystra. — Read  Acts  14.  8-20.  Driven  from  Iconium, 
the  missionaries  passed  on  to  Lystra,  eighteen  miles  dis- 
tant, following  the  great  highway  toward  the  Cilician  gates, 


A  TOUEING  MISSIONARY 

the  mountain  pass  through  the  Taurus  range.  Lystra, 
though  a  smaller  city  than  Iconium  or  Antioch,  was,  how- 
ever, a  Roman  colony.  Apparently  there  v/as  no  synagogue 
in  Lystra  and,  consequently,  few  Jews.  There  was  one 
family,  the  wife  or  perhaps  the  widow  of  which  Paul 
learned  to  know  intimately.  Eunice,  a  Jewess,  married  to 
a  Greek,  was  a  devout  woman  (Acts  16.  1 ;  2  Timothy  1.  5), 
and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  guests 
in  her  home.  Eunice  became  a  Christian  at  this  time  (Acts 
16.  1).  The  missionaries  were  compelled  here  for  the  first 
time,  in  presenting  the  gospel,  to  make  a  direct  appeal  to 
pagan  Gentiles.  Read  carefully  the  story  of  the  healing  of  the 
lame  man.  This  miracle  of  healing  aroused  the  enthusiasm 
and  confidence  of  the  populace  as  the  preaching  itself  had 
not  done.  The  priests  of  the  god  ^'Zeus  Before  the  City^'^ 
brought  materials  for  a  special  sacrifice  in  the  honor  of  Paul 
and  Barnabas.  Note  the  primitive  character  of  this  com- 
munity. At  Athens  or  Corinth,  civilized  centers  of  the 
Greek  and  Roman  world,  the  old  religion  was  so  under- 
mined by  skepticism  that  such  a  scene  as  was  enacted  at 
Lystra  would  have  been  impossible.  Observe  (Acts  14.  14) 
the  symbol  of  distress  and  condemnation  in  the  presence 
of  an  act  of  sacrilege.  Read  attentively  the  address  by 
which  Paul  stopped  the  sacrifice  and  quieted  the  multitude. 
Not  long  afterward  Jews  from  Antioch  and  Iconium,  hear- 
ing of  Paul's  successes,  came  to  Lystra.  While  they  were 
tarrying  and  teaching,  there  came  certain  Jews  from 
Iconium  and  Antioch ;  and  as  they  were  disputing  publicly, 
they  persuaded  the  multitudes  to  withdraw  from  them,  say- 
ing that  nothing  they  said  is  true,  but  all  false;  and  they 
stirred  up  the  multitudes  and  "stoned  Paul  and  dragged 
him  out  of  the  city,  supposing  that  he  was  dead."  The 
Christian  disciples  followed  the  brutal  mob;  and  while 
they  stood  round  him,  considering  no  doubt  his  burial,  Paul 
revived.  The  next  day  he  departed  for  Derbe,  thirty  miles 
distant. 
The  Return  Journey.— Read  Acts  14.  31-27.     After  a 


Bezan  text. 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

successful  ministry  at  Derbe,  which,  being  a  small  town, 
probably  did  not  occupy  them  a  long  time,  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas retraced  their  steps  through  the  cities  where  they  had 
preached  the  gospel.  In  revisiting  these  cities  they  were 
now  concerned  not  with  making  new  converts  but  in  estab- 
lishing the  disciples  firmly  in  the  new  life.  Since  these 
Christians  could  look  no  more  to  the  synagogue  for  teach- 
ing and  guidance,  it  was  necessary  to  organize  them  into 
churches.  No  doubt  the  Christians  met  in  private  houses, 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  more  than  one  church  was 
organized  in  each  city.  Elders  were  appointed  to  oversee 
the  church's  life,  and  they  were  instructed  concerning  fast- 
ing and  prayer. 

Homeward  Bound. — On  leaving  Antioch  the  two  trav- 
elers recrossed  the  Taurus  Mountains  into  Pamphilia 
and  tarried  a  while  at  Perga,  preaching  their  Christian 
message.  When  opportunity  offered  to  take  ship  from 
Attalia  to  Antioch,  they  sailed,  and  after  an  absence  of 
from  eighteen  months  to  two  years  reached  the  city  from 
which  they  had  set  out  and  recounted  the  story  of  their 
trials  and  triumphs,  to  the  gratification  of  the  Antiochian 
church. 

The  Joukney  Through  Asia  Minor  Into  Europe 

A  Year  After  the  First  Tour. — Approximately  a  year  had 
passed  since  the  return  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  Antioch, 
when  one  day  Paul  proposed  to  Barnabas  that  they  should 
revisit  the  churches  they  had  organized.  During  this  inter- 
val Paul  passed  the  time  at  Antioch  and  Jerusalem.  Read 
Acts  15.  36-40  for  the  difference  of  opinion  which  pre- 
vented Paul  from  carrying  out  his  proposal  to  Barnabas. 

Off  for  Galatia. — Paul  and  Silas  set  out  for  Galatia,  trav- 
eling by  land  and  passing  through  the  country  about  Tar- 
sus, where  during  some  ten  years  Paul  had  presented  the 
cause  of  Christ.  Following  the  imperial  highway  through 
the  Cilician  gates  across  the  Taurus,  Paul  and  Silas  came 
to  Derbe  and  Lystra.  At  Derbe  no  more  was  done  than 
to  confirm  the  church.  Paul  seems  to  have  left  the  respon- 
sibility of  further  evangelization  upon  the  loyal  disciples 

40 


A  TOURING  :\IISSIONAEY 

themselves.  They  were  not  made  dependent  on  a  foreign 
missionary.  At  Lystra  an  important  addition  to  the  mis- 
sionary staff  was  made  (Acts  16.  1-3).  Examine  also  2 
Timothy  1.  5-7;  1  Timothy  1.  18;  4.  14,  and  observe  that 
a  certain  timidity  and  backwardness  were  characteristic  of 
Timothy,  and  that  he  seemed  to  have  been  selected  as  a 
foreign  missionary  through  the  calling  of  some  inspired 
fellow  Christians  at  Lystra. 

On  to  Troas.— Read  Acts  16.  4-10.  After  leaving  Lystra, 
Paul,  Silas,  and  Timothy  visited  the  churches  in  Antioch 
and  other  unnamed  Phrygian  towns.  There  is  no  hint  of 
persecution  now.  The  churches  are  strong  in  faith  and 
growing  larger  daily.  Fifteen  or  twenty  miles  from 
Antioch  was  the  boundary  between  the  provinces  of  Galatia 
and  Asia.  Asia  was  a  rich  and  flourishing  province,  the 
great  center  of  Hellenism  in  Paul's  day.  Evidently  Paul 
had  in  mind  the  following  of  the  great  highway  through 
the  province  to  Ephesus.  But  some  deep  conviction  that 
more  experience  was  needed  or,  perhaps,  some  conflict  with 
the  authorities  of  one  of  these  Asian  cities  was  needed 
brought  the  positive  assurance  that  this  province  was  now 
open  to  evangelization.  Accordingly,  they  struck  northward 
through  the  eastern  edge  of  the  province  of  Asia,  one  hun- 
dred miles  to  the  boundary  of  the  province  of  Bithynia, 
bordering  on  the  Euxine  Sea.  Here,  again,  they  were  con- 
vinced that  Bithynia  was  not  their  present  goal.  They  now 
turned  directly  east,  passing  through  Mysia,  a  part  of  the 
province  of  Asia,  to  Troas. 

At  Philippi. — Read  Acts  16.  11-40.  Led  onward  by  a 
vision  at  Troas,  Paul  sailed  across  the  ^gean  Sea  to  Neapo- 
lis,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  forty  miles,  and  after  a 
land  journey  of  ten  miles  reached  Philippi,  a  colony  of 
Rome  and  the  chief  city  of  its  district  in  Macedonia. 
The  citizens  of  Philippi  were  Roman  citizens  and  had  the 
right  to  vote  in  the  assemblies  at  Rome.  The  pride  and 
privilege  involved  in  such  citizenship  is  the  key  to  the 
incidents  of  Paul's  ministry  at  Philippi.  There  was  no 
synagogue  in  the  city,  and  the  Jewish  population  was 
negligible.    Where  there  was  no  synagogue,  the  Jews  were 

41 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

accustomed  to  meet  on  the  Sabbath  for  prayer  beside  a 
river  or  along  the  seashore.  Women  composed  the  little 
group  Paul  found  gathered  for  worship  here. 

The  Fruits  of  Evangelism. — Paul's  work  ended  in  Phil- 
ippi  through  conflict  with  the  authorities  brought  about  by 
the  attack  of  the  owners  of  a  slave  girl,  who  was  a  ventrilo- 
quist. Among  early  peoples  it  was  generally  believed  that 
ventriloquism  was  due  to  a  spirit  dwelling  in  the  ventrilo- 
quist, and  that  such  a  person  could  tell  the  future.  The 
Philippian  populace,  the  owners  of  the  girl,  and  the  girl 
herself  undoubtedly  believed  in  this  explanation  of  her 
power.  Such  a  mind  might  well  become  diseased  and  dis- 
torted. When  she  was  restored  to  sanity,  her  money-mak- 
ing power  was  gone.  The  charge  of  these  embittered  men 
against  Paul  and  Silas  before  the  magistrates  climaxed 
in  the  claim  that  Roman  customs  and  privileges  were  being 
subverted.  In  the  midst  of  the  tumult  Paul  recognized  the 
futility  of  claiming  Roman  citizenship,  or  else  his  protest 
was  not  heard.  They  were  thrown  into  the  prison,  wounded 
and  sore  from  their  beating,  but  their  spirit  was  un- 
quenched. 

A  Midnight  Jail  Delivery. — Coincident  with  the  mid- 
night hymns  and  prayers  of  Paul  and  Silas,  an  earthquake 
shook  the  city  and,  forcing  the  doorposts  of  the  prison 
apart,  let  slip  the  bar  across  the  door  so  that  it  swung  open. 
But  the  prisoners  made  no  attempt  to  escape.  The  jailer, 
about  to  commit  suicide,  on  being  reassured  by  Paul  secured 
the  other  prisoners^  and  led  Paul  and  Silas  forth.  The 
prisoners  were  recognized  in  the  city  "as  slaves  of  God" 
(Acts  16.  17),  and  it  was  generally  assumed  that  the 
Deity,  by  the  earthquake,  was  punishing  the  city  for  its 
evil  treatment  of  his  servants.  Read  the  remainder  of 
the  story  of  the  jailer's  conversion,  the  liberation  of  the 
prisoners,  and  their  departure. 

The  Journey  to  Corinth. — Read  Acts  17. 1  to  18.  1.  Read 
attentively  the  account  of  Paul's  journey  through  Mace- 
donia into  Greece.    There  is  no  explanation  why  he  passed 


*  Bezan  text. 

42 


A  TOUEING  MISSIONARY 

through  certain  important  cities  without  presenting  the 
gospel.  In  Thessalonica  lie  began,  as  usual,  with  the  syna- 
gogue; and  his  work  ended  here,  as  in  most  cases,  with  a 
riot.  A  new  charge  was  made  against  the  missionaries 
here.  At  Berea  a  most  favorable  impression  was  made  upon 
the  missionaries  by  the  citizens.  Athens,  the  next 
preaching  point  on  the  journey,  presented  an  entirely 
different  situation.  Despite  his  unfavorable  reception 
Paul's  preaching  was  not  fruitless.  A  later  chapter  will 
consider  Paul's  message  at  Athens  in  more  detail.  The 
next  station  was  Corinth.  Here  Paul  remained  for  some 
time,  and  through  his  and  others'  labors  a  strong  church 
was  established. 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  Imperialism  of  the  Christian  Gospel. — This  chapter 
presents  an  outline  of  the  journeys  and  labors  of  Paul  and 
his  companions  in  their  efforts  to  spread  the  good  news  of 
Christ  into  Gentile  lands.  The  first  journey  was  a  tour  of 
about  nine  hundred  miles;  the  second,  twelve  hundred 
miles.  There  is  a  definite  statement  that  the  gospel  was 
proclaimed  in  eleven  cities.  This,  however,  is  not  the 
whole  account  of  Paul's  preaching  stations.  See  Romans 
15.  19;  1  Thessalonians  1.  7;  Acts  13.  49;  16.  4.  Greek 
was  the  language  used  by  the  missionaries.  It  was  spoken 
by  Cyprians,  Pamphilians,  Galatians,  Asians,  Bithynians, 
Macedonians,  and  Acheeans.  It  was  the  language  of  the 
synagogue,  the  courts,  the  pagan  temples,  the  market  place, 
and  the  church.  These  journeys  of  Paul  radiate  the  glow- 
ing imperialism  of  the  Christian  gospel.  It  possesses  a 
conquering  message  for  all  peoples.  It  throbs  with  the 
beat  of  universal  life.  It  knows  no  racial,  political,  or 
social  barriers.  Springing  from  the  soul  of  the  one  uni- 
versal God,  it  is  the  very  essence  of  democracy.  It  has  in 
its  very  nature  the  power  to  level  and  to  exalt,  to  purge 
and  to  enrich,  the  diversified  units  of  humanity  into  a 
breathing,  living,  vital  fraternity. 

The  Kingdom  of  God  at  Work. — Here  we  see  the  king- 

43 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

dom  of  God  actually  at  work  in  fulfilling  the  dream  of  the 
best  of  the  Hebrew  prophets.  In  their  thought  the  Hebrew 
was  Jehovah^s  evangelist  and  missionary.  Jesus  reawak- 
ened that  consciousness  of  Jewish  mission  in  Peter, 
Stephen,  Barnabas,  Silas,  and  Paul.  In  Paul  it  flared  forth 
in  power  and  triumph.  This  is  the  turning  point  of 
the  world^s  history.  Here  is  the  actual,  successful,  per- 
manent crossing  of  Jewish  barriers  by  Christianity  into  the 
wide  domain  of  the  world's  life.  The  idealism  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  justified  by  its  victory  in  his  greatest  of  apostles. 

Obeying  Orders 

A  Soldier  of  Jesus  Christ. — Paul  veritably  was  a  soldier 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Near  Damascus  he  enlisted  under  his 
great  Commander.  Thenceforth  he  lived  under  orders. 
At  Christ's  command  he  set  out  for  Cyprus.  He  was  for- 
bidden by  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  to  journey  through  the  prov- 
ince of  Asia  to  Ephesus.  He  was  turned  back  from  the 
shores  of  the  Euxine  Sea  and  sent  into  Macedonia  by  the 
same  authority.  Paul  never  proclaimed  the  gospel  to  a  man 
or  to  a  city  apart  from  this  consciousness  of  the  directing 
presence  of  Christ  in  his  soul.  His  plans  were  the  fulfill- 
ing of  Christ's  program.  It  was  this  consciousness  of  ful- 
filling Christ's  will  which  gave  him  strength.  Think  for  a 
moment  of  his  vast  labors.  Hundreds  of  miles  on  foot,  en- 
countering in  every  city  his  angry  countrymen,  antagoniz- 
ing the  deepest  social  relationships  of  the  Gentile  world, 
haled  by  mobs  before  the  political  authorities,  jeered  and 
cursed,  scourged  and  stoned,  imprisoned  and  exiled,  alien- 
ated from  his  family  and  often  sick,  and,  although  ever  on 
extensive  journeys,  providing  for  his  necessities  by  his  own 
hard  labor  at  tentmaking,  his  life  for  years  was  an  appalling 
round  of  difficulties  and  sacrifices  to  challenge  the  stoutest 
man.  Yet  Paul  endured  and  triumphed  in  his  conscious- 
ness of  the  Christ  dwelling  within  him. 

The  Secret  of  a  Joyous  Life. — It  was  because  Paul  obeyed 
that  his  life  was  a  joyous  life.  There  is  no  joy  like  the  joy 
of  spiritual  exaltation.     Only  a  heaven-filled  soul  could 

44 


A  TOURING  MISSIONARY 

write,  "I  have  been  crucified  with  Christ,  and  it  is  no  longer 
I  that  live,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."  Wounded,  sore,  un- 
washed, unfed,  unjustly  condemned,  he  sings  midnight 
hymns  in  the  Philippian  jail.  His  greatest  wish  for  the 
happiness  of  others  is  that  they  might  be  filled  with  his 
joy  (Acts  26.  29).  He  has  sung  Christianity's  greatest 
hymn  of  joyous  love  (1  Corinthians  13).  To  be  dismayed 
and  cast  down  by  life's  tasks  and  burdens  is  indeed  to  be 
the  slave,  and  not  the  master,  of  the  world.  No  man  is 
defeated  whose  life  is  the  fulfilled  program  of  God.  Con- 
scious of  carrying  out  the  divine  will,  a  man  may  evidence 
the  customary  signs  of  defeat,  but  such  a  man  is  crowned 
with  victory. 

The  Right  Perspective. — In  obedience  to  orders  Paul 
took  up  a  new  relation  to  trade  and  business.  Tentmaking 
never  became  for  him  a  primary  interest.  It  was  ever 
subordinate  to  the  work  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Why 
should  farming  or  teaching  or  manufacturing  or  mer- 
chandising or  any  other  vocation  ever  set  aside  the  great 
spiritual  interests  of  life?  Is  the  soul  secondary  to  the 
body?  Who  enters  into  the  fullest,  richest  life — the  man 
who  centers  his  desires  in  food  and  clothing,  in  farms 
and  banks,  or  he  who  lives  to  further  civic  reforms,  to 
erase  some  aggravating  social  injustice,  to  spread  the 
Kingdom  to  the  remotest  land,  and  to  win  the  men  of  his 
own  community  into  the  fellowship  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  There 
is  only  one  answer:  That  man  enters  into  life  who  seeks 
life.  He  who  labors  primarily  for  the  flesh  sinks  to  the 
pettiness  of  his  transient  goals. 

God's  Orders. — Every  man  is  under  the  orders  of  God. 
To  seek  his  orders  gladly  and  to  follow  them  strictly  opens 
every  door  to  human  joy  and  triumph.  Back  of  all  our 
blind  groping  after  greatness  and  happiness  is  the  pro- 
gram of  God  for  our  part  in  the  world's  life.  To  miss  this 
plan  of  God  by  our  wayward  willfulness  is  the  dark  tragedy 
of  mankind.  To  open  one's  soul  to  all  that  God  would 
be  in  us  is  to  know  life  in  all  its  possible  greatness.  The 
will  of  God  is  the  only  path  leading  from  this  hour  to 
heaven. 

46 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  How  came  Paul  to  be  called  to  be  a  missionary? 

2.  What  peculiar  interest  attaches  to  the  church  at  Antioch? 

3.  Trace  the  journey  and  work  of  Paul  at  Cyprus,  Antioch 
in  Galatia,  Lyconium,  and  Lystra. 

4.  What  prompted  Paul's  second  missionary  tour? 

5.  What  results  were  attained  at  Troas,  Philippi,  Corinth, 
and  Athens? 

6.  If  Paul  considered  himself  a  missionary  to  the  Gentiles, 
what  object  did  he  have  in  speaking  in  the  synagogues? 

7.  State  the  points  of  teaching  in  which  Paul  and  the  or- 
thodox Jews  differed.  Why  did  Paul's  emphasis  of  these 
differences  naturally  cause  antagonism? 

8.  What  particular  teachings  of  Paul  antagonized  his  Gen- 
tile hearers? 

9.  What  contribution  was  made  by  Barnabas  and  Silas  to 
these  early  Gentile  churches? 

10.  Mention  a  few  of  the  social,  moral,  and  religious  ideas 
and  practices  which  these  early  Gentile  Christians  were 
obliged  to  discard  in  order  to  enjoy  personal  fellowship  with 
Jesus  Christ. 

11.  What  sort  of  faith,  devotion,  and  courage  characterized 
the  labors  and  sufferings  of  the  first  missionaries  into  Gen- 
tile lands? 

12.  How  did  the  Greek  language  become  a  force  in  the 
development  of  the  Kingdom? 

13.  Show  that  the  new  putting  of  the  gospel  message  demon- 
strated the  genius  of  the  early  missionaries. 

14.  To  what  extent  were  the  events  of  this  lesson  the  great 
turning  point  in  the  world's  history? 

15.  How  far  is  the  idealism  of  Jesus  justified  by  its  vic- 
tory in  his  greatest  of  apostles? 

References  for  Additional  Study 

The  Apostolic  Age,  McGiffert,  pages  234-62. 

St.  Paul  the  Traveler,  Ramsay,  pages  70-128,  194-252. 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  I,  pages 
316-27. 

Article  "Roads  and  Travel  in  the  New  Testament"  in 
A  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Hastings,  Volume  V. 


46 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  EAHLY-CHEISTIAN  MESSAGE 

To  contemplate  the  triumphs  of  early  Christianity  is 
to  be  filled  with  wonder  at  the  rapidity  with  which  the  new 
religion  spread  through  the  lands  open  to  travelers  from 
Jerusalem.  When  Paul  was  in  Thessalonica,  his  enemies 
said  of  the  missionaries  that  they  had  "turned  the  world 
upside  down'^  (Acts  17.  6).  During  PauFs  lifetime  it  was 
said  the  gospel  was  proclaimed  "in  every  place"  (1  Thessa- 
lonians  1.  8),  "throughout  the  whole  world"  (Eomans  1. 
8),  "in  all  the  world  bearing  fruit  and  increasing'^  (Colos- 
sians  1.  6),  "preached  among  the  nations"  (1  Timothy  3. 
16);  "preached  everywhere"  (Mark  16.  20).  Countless 
thousands  of  Jews  were  numbered  among  Christian  be- 
lievers (Acts  21.  20).  Revelation  7.  9  indicates  the  wide 
expansion  of  the  faith  at  the  close  of  the  first  Christian 
century.  This  is  amazing  history.  There  were  three 
classes  of  people  who  were  drawn  into  the  new  life :  namely, 
Jews ;  Gentiles  who,  sick  of  the  idolatry  of  the  pagan  world, 
were  the  adherents  of  the  synagogue  and  were  known  as 
"God-fearing"  or  "devout  persons" ;  and  Gentiles  who  were 
raw  converts  from  heathenism  itself.  What  was  the  mes- 
sage which  won  these  people  by  the  multiplied  thousands 
to  Christianity? 

The  Peesentation  of  Christianity  to  the  Jew 

The  Preaching  of  the  First  Days. — It  has  been  pointed 
out  in  the  first  chapter  that  the  theme  of  Peter's  preaching 
was  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus.  The  customary  Jewish  view 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  was  held  by  these  earliest  disciples 
of  Jesus.  It  was  their  task  not  to  proclaim  a  new  content 
in  Kingdom  expectations  but  to  declare  that  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  a  man  approved  by  signs  which  God  did  by  him, 
although  he  had  been  crucified  and  buried,  had  been  raised 

47 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

from  the  dead,  exalted  by  God,  and  given  a  glorified  place 
by  God's  side  in  heaven.  It  was  through  this  process  of 
suffering  and  exaltation,  strange  and  unexpected,  that 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  had  been  made  the  Messiah  (Acts  2. 
36) .  According  to  this  preaching  Jesus  has  not  yet  entered 
into  his  Messianic  work;  he  is  simply  inducted  into  this 
Messianic  office.  Jesus,  who  is  now  the  Christ,  will  remain 
in  heaven  until  the  dawning  of  the  Messianic  age  (Acts  3. 
21),  but  these  "times  of  restoration'^  are  not  far  distant: 
Peter  and  his  colaborers  and  their  auditors  will  live  to 
witness  the  advent  of  the  Messiah  (Acts  1.  11). 

The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  the  Crowning  Proof  of  His 
Messiahship. — The  resurrection  is  the  first  proof  offered  to 
the  Jews  who  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  earthly  life  of 
Jesus.  The  signs  by  which  God  evidenced  his  choice  of 
Jesus  are  not  related.  Appeal  is  made  rather  to  the  Jew- 
ish Scriptures,  by  means  of  which  the  apostles  seek  to  prove 
that  it  was  prophesied  that  the  Messiah  was  to  suffer,  die, 
and  rise  again.  Scripture  proof  on  these  points  would  be 
convincing  and  final  for  a  Jewish  audience.  After  hearing 
the  facts  of  the  resurrection  and  the  proof  of  Scripture  the 
Jew  who  was  convinced  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  was 
"pricked  in  the  heart"  that  he  and  his  people  had  so  mal- 
treated God's  Messiah.  There  was  now  only  one  course  of 
action:  He  must  repent  for  such  blindness  and  evildoing, 
confess  by  baptism  the  Messianic  nature  and  office  of  Jesus, 
and  receive  forgiveness  of  sins  as  the  result  of  this  acknowl- 
edgment of  wrong  and  this  new  adherence  to  Jesus,  the 
Christ  (Acts  2.  38;  5.  31).  To  do  these  things  was  to 
save  themselves  from  their  "crooked  generation"  (Acts  2. 
40),  to  be  preserved  from  utter  destruction  (Acts  3.  23). 
Since  Jesus  is  God's  true  Messiah,  there  is  no  other  name 
or  person  through  whom  the  salvation  of  the  Messianic 
Kingdom  can  be  secured  (Acts  4.  12).  To  acknowledge 
this  Messiahship  of  Jesus  is  "to  obey  God"  (Acts  5.  29), 
and  to  those  who  so  obey  him  God  sends  the  Holy  Spirit 
as  his  witness  of  their  obedience,  his  assurance  of  the  truth 
of  their  beliefs,  and  the  seal  of  their  rights  in  the  coming 
Messianic  Kingdom  (Acts  5.  32). 

48 


THE  EARLY-CHRISTIAN  MESSAGE 

Later  Preaching  to  the  Jews. — Time  passed.  The  Mes- 
siah did  not  return.  But  the  glory  of  the  earthly  life  and 
the  mystery  of  the  resurrection  did  not  dim.  There  were 
depths  in  the  life  and  sufferings  of  Jesus  which  the  first 
preaching  did  not  sound.  At  first  the  death  of  the  Messiah 
was  a  hindrance  in  Christian  thinking,  but  in  reflecting 
over  this  death  it  came  to  pass  that  a  saving  significance 
was  attached  to  it.  This  conviction  was  deepened  by  the  sense 
that  the  most  faithful  adherence  to  Jewish  law  left  life 
barren  of  lofty  inspiration  and,  especially,  did  not  fill  the 
soul  with  a  joyous  sense  of  rightness  before  God.  Jewish 
legalism  neither  bequeathed  to  its  most  loyal  adherents  the 
sense  that  God  was  satisfied  with  a  kept  law  nor  yielded 
the  strong  motive  for  a  rigorous  moral  life  such  as  was 
pressed  upon  them  by  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  within 
them.  At  first  the  prophets  were  made  to  yield  their  wit- 
ness to  the  dying  Messiah.  Next  the  law  was  subjected  to 
searching  inquiry,  and  it  too  was  interpreted  to  witness 
the  necessity  of  the  death  of  Christ.  When  this  was  done, 
the  early  Christians  became  clearly  aware  that  the  death 
of  Jesus  was  necessary  to  salvation.  Peter's  address  to 
Cornelius  (Acts  10.  34-48)  indicates  the  initial  stage  of  the 
subjection  of  righteousness  obtained  by  observance  of  law 
to  the  new  righteousness  obtained  by  direct  cleaving  unto 
Christ.  This  position  is  witnessed  also  by  the  fellowship 
given  Paul  by  the  Jerusalem  leaders — James,  Peter,  and 
John  (Galatians  2.  9). 

(a)  The  death  of  Christ  necessary  to  salvation. — It  may 
have  been  at  Antioch  that  the  first  definite  proclamation 
was  made  that  the  death  of  Christ  was  necessary  to  salva- 
tion. Paul  positively  asserts  that  he  had  not  been  in- 
structed in  the  gospel  by  the  apostles  (Galatians  1.  17). 
Yet  he  states  that  he  had  been  taught  that  the  central  fact 
of  the  gospel  is  that  "Christ  died  for  our  sins"  (1  Corin- 
thians 15.  3)  and  he  implies  (1  Corinthians  15.  11)  that 
this  was  the  customary  preaching  of  all  Christian  mission- 
aries. Paul  labored  a  year  at  Antioch  before  setting  out 
on  his  missionary  journey  to  Galatia.  Then,  when  he 
preached  to  the  Jews  of  Antioch  in  Galatia,  he  proclaimed 

49 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

that  the  death  of  Christ  is  essential  to  salvation — that  is,  to 
justification  before  God. 

(1)  Paul's  method. — Examine  Acts  13.  16-41  for  the  ele- 
ments of  Paul's  preaching  to  the  Jews.  He,  like  Peter, 
seeks  to  show  that  Jesus,  although  crucified,  is  neverthe- 
less the  Messiah.  Like  his  predecessors  he  also  seeks  to 
show  that  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  are  fully  at- 
tested by  the  prophetic  writings  of  Israel.  But  Paul  goes 
further  than  the  recorded  sermons  of  his  predecessors.  He 
puts  explicitly  what  others  were  beginning  to  feel:  The 
death  of  Christ  has  some  sort  of  atoning  merit.  Through 
this  dying  and  rising  Messiah  believing  Christians  receive 
what  they  could  not  receive  through  the  most  faithful 
adherence  to  Jewish  legalism — a  justification  before  God. 
This  account  of  the  preaching  of  the  saving  value  of  Christ's 
death  is  corroborated  by  Paul's  own  testimony.  See  Gala- 
tians  1.  4;  2.  16-20;  3.  1-11.  While  Paul,  in  Galatians,  is 
writing  to  Christians,  of  whom  nearly  all  were  Gentiles, 
he  sets  forth  the  gospel  as  he  would  proclaim  it  to  the 
Jew. 

(2)  Fruits  of  conflict  with  Judaism. — It  is  not  likely 
that  in  any  of  the  cities  where  the  gospel  had  been  preached 
up  to  the  time  Paul  began  work  in  Corinth,  Christian 
preaching  attempted  to  give  a  reasoned  explanation  of  the 
way  in  which  the  death  of  Christ  secured  the  salvation 
which  the  law  was  unable  to  do.  At  this  stage,  before 
the  Judaizers  troubled  the  Galatian  churches,  it  was  suf- 
ficient to  proclaim  that  "Christ  died  for  us"  (1  Thessa- 
lonians  5.  10)  ;  that  "he  gave  himself  for  our  sins"  (Gala- 
tians 1.  4).  It  was  in  the  conflict  of  Gentilic  Christianity 
with  Judaism  that  the  disciples  felt  the  need  of  a  richer 
doctrine  of  both  the  work  and  the  person  of  Christ. 

(h)  Why  Christ  died. — Paul  was  no  doubt  the  first  of 
the  early  church  to  work  out  a  fuller  conception  of  Christ 
than  was  used  even  by  him  in  the  first  fifteen  years  of  his 
preaching.  When  he  felt  the  need  of  asking  and  answering 
why  Christ  died  Paul  found  no  single  answer  full  enough 
for  his  needs.  The  most  obvious  way  to  view  the  death  of 
Christ  was  to  consider  it  as  some  form  of  sacrifice.     For 

50 


THE  EARLY-CHRISTIAN  MESSAGE 

Paul  it  was  not  merely  Jesus  of  Nazareth  who  had  died : 
it  was  the  Messiah  who  was  put  to  death  on  the  cross. 

(1)  The  answer  in  Romans  3.  2J^-26;  8.  1-Jf. — These 
passages,  difficult  to  interpret  accurately,  present  the  death 
of  Christ  as  a  sacrifice.  The  ideas  here  seem  as  follows: 
{a)  God  in  the  past  has  not  punished  sins  with  strict  jus- 
tice. (5)  This  forbearance  of  God  is  at  an  end:  God  must 
exhibit  his  own  righteousness  and  he  now  insists  upon 
righteousness  in  men.  (c)  Since  God  does  not  wish  to 
destroy  men  he  sends  his  Son  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin  (Romans 
8.  3,  marginal  reading),  {d)  Such  an  exhibition  of  God's 
love  (Romans  8.  32)  and  such  a  death  of  the  sinless  Son 
(2  Corinthians  5.  21)  fully  set  forth  the  righteousness  of 
God  and  the  necessity  for  justice,  (e)  After  this  justness 
is  shown  by  the  death  of  Christ,  God  may  freely  justify 
mankind.  (/)  This  death  of  Christ  becomes  a  propitiatory 
sacrifice  when  so  claimed  by  faith. 

(2)  The  answer  in  Galatians  3.  10-13. — Paul  approaches 
the  death  of  Christ  in  another  way  in  Galatians  3.  10-13. 
The  key  to  this  passage  is  the  primitive  conception  of  a 
curse.i  According  to  early  ideas  a  curse  possesses  objective 
reality  and  keeps  its  potency  until  it  lights  upon  some  being 
and  spends  its  power  in  working  some  evil  (see  Deuteron- 
omy 11.  29  for  this  conception).  The  argument  for  the 
death  of  Christ  on  this  line  is :  (a)  Everyone  who  seeks 
righteousness  by  law  is  under  a  curse,  for  cursed  is  he  who 
fails  in  any  point  of  observance  of  law.  (b)  The  curse 
of  unfulfilled  law  is  death,  (c)  Christ  took  upon  himself 
the  curse  of  the  law,  for  he  hung  upon  a  tree  (Deuteronomy 
21.  22,  23).  By  his  death  the  curse  of  the  law  spent  itself. 
(d)  Released  from  the  curse,  we  may  now  receive  freely 
through  faith  the  justifying  Spirit  of  God. 

(3)  Another  answer. — There  is  a  third  way  in  which 
Paul  conceived  the  necessity  of  the  death  of  Christ.  Read 
Galatians  2.  20  and  observe  the  mystical  union  of  Paul  with 
Christ.    It  is  Christ  who  lives  in  PauPs  body.    So  close  is 


1  See  Origin  and  Development  of  Moral  Ideas,  Westermark,  Volume  I,  pages  57- 
61;  articles  "Cursing  and  Blessing"  in  Encudopcedia  of  Religion  and  Ethict,  and 
"Curse"  in  A  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  Hastings. 

51 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

this  union  that  Paul  too  has  been  crucified.  This  mystical 
union  of  the  believer  with  Christ  is  the  privilege  and  the 
obligation  of  every  true  disciple  (1  Thessalonians  5.  10). 
Read  now  Romans  6.  2-11  and  observe  that  Christians  are 
mystically  identified  with  Christ  in  death  and  in  resurrec- 
tion, which  for  believers  is  a  resurrection  from  sin  into 
newness  of  life.  Christians  are  "crucified  with  Christ^^; 
they  have  "died  with  Christ^';  they  are  "alive  in  Christ 
Jesus.''  It  is  this  process  of  death  and  resurrection 
achieved  in  union  with  Christ  that  justifies  us  before  God. 
"Those  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus"  stand  uncondemned 
(Romans  8.  1).  Examine  also  2  Corinthians  5.  14-21. 
Note  the  clear  statement  of  the  mystical  union  of  Chris- 
tians with  Christ  in  his  death.  "One  died,  therefore  all 
died."  Since  men  must  die  to  sin  to  be  righteous  before 
God,  and  since  to  live  righteously  they  must  become  right- 
eous in  Christ  (2  Corinthians  5.  17,  21) — that  is,  they 
must  be  mystically  united  with  Christ  (Galatians  2.  20; 
3.  27) — Christ  must  needs  die  that  all  men  might  die  with 
him  and  rise  with  him. 

Paul's  Messiah  Is  God's  Own  Son. — Paul's  Messiah  is 
not  only  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man  approved  of  God" 
(Acts  2.  22),  but  God's  own  Son  entering  by  human  birth 
into  the  Jewish  world  (Galatians  4.  4,  5)  to  work  out  his 
Messianic  mission  of  redemption.  This  for  Paul  was  the 
astounding  wonder  of  the  world.  The  Son  of  God,  living  in 
equal  glory  with  God,  resigned  his  heavenly  life  to  enter 
into  the  servile  life  of  men,  enduring  the  suffering  and  the 
shame  of  the  cross,  to  become  the  Saviour  of  men  (Philip- 
pians  2.  6-8).  This  was  the  secret  of  Christ  for  Paul :  love 
and  service  in  infinite  measure  to  redeem  the  world  from 
sin. 

The  Gospel  as  Peesented  to  the  God-Fearing 

Gentile  Worshipers  of  Jehovah. — In  every  city  where 
there  was  a  synagogue  pagans  were  attracted  by  the  positive 
and  relatively  simple  doctrines  and  pure  morals  of  Judaism. 
Such  Gentiles,  though  unwilling  to  throw  in  their  lot  with 
the  Jewish  race,  gave  up  their  pagan  worship.    Such  were 

52 


THE  EARLY-CHRISTIAN  MESSAGE 

called  ''God-fearing'^  (Acts  10.  22;  13.  16,  26).  Peter's 
message  to  Cornelius  (Acts  10.  34-43)  is  an  instance  of  the 
earliest  presentation  of  the  gospel  to  these  devout  Gentiles. 
Observe  in  this  sermon  the  extensive  reference  to  the  earthly 
life  of  Jesus.  As  in  Peter's  discourse  at  Pentecost,  so  here 
it  is  Jesus  of  Nazareth  who  is  exalted  to  be  the  Christ 
(Acts  10.  42).  Here  it  is  asserted  that  Christ — that  is, 
the  Messiah — is  to  be  the  Judge  of  all  mankind.  Accept- 
ance of  this  Messianic  character  of  Jesus  is  followed  by 
forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

At  Thessalonica  and  Berea. — At  Thessalonica,  Paul 
spoke  in  the  local  synagogue.  Devout  Greeks,  adherents  of 
Judaism,  were  in  his  audience  (Acts  17.  2,  3).  The  same 
message  was  proclaimed  at  Berea  (Acts  17.  11).  It  is 
unlikely  that  Paul  made  any  distinction  in  his  preaching  to 
the  '"God-fearing."  They  were  familiar  enough  with  Juda- 
ism to  follow  his  arguments. 

The  Message  Delivered  to  Pagan  Hearers 

Paul's  Message  at  Lystra  and  Athens. — The  author  of 
Acts  gives  two  brief  reports  of  Paul's  discourses  to  a 
heathen  audience — the  first  at  Lystra  (14.  15-17),  the  sec- 
ond at  Athens  (17.  22-31).  There  are  brief  statements  and 
hints  of  his  preaching  to  pagans  in  his  letters.  Paul's 
preaching  doubtless  was  the  type  by  which  churches  were 
built  up  in  pagan  lands.  Paganism  was  cursed  by  idolatry 
and  immorality.  No  doubt  the  most  educated,  so  far  as 
they  were  religious,  knew  the  vanity  of  idolatry  and  believed 
in  a  deity  who  was  not  to  be  worshiped  in  wood  and  stone ; 
but  the  masses  were  not  so  freed  from  primitive  beliefs. 
Paul  saw  the  moral  baseness  of  pagan  civilization  and 
severely  arraigned  it  in  his  preaching.  First  Thessalonians 
4.  2-6;  1.  3;  Galatians  5.  19-21;  Romans  1.  26-31,  picture 
the  vices  of  the  heathen  world. 

One  True  and  Living  God. — Paul  felt  his  first  duty  was 
to  proclaim  that  there  is  only  one  true  and  living  God. 
Thus  Christian  preaching  was  a  monotheistic  challenge 
to  the  widely  spread  and  deeply  rooted  polytheism  of  an- 
cient life.    See  Acts  14.  15;  17.  23;  1  Thessalonians  1.  9. 

53 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFOEMERS 

This  one  God  is  the  Creator  of  the  world  (Acts  14.  15; 
17.  24-26,  28),  the  giver  of  earth's  blessings  (14.  17; 
17.  25).  His  nature,  being  spiritual,  cannot  be  honored  by 
worship  of  idols,  however  costly  they  may  be  (17.  29;  1 
Thessalonians  1.  9).  Since  the  gods  of  the  pagans  are 
demons  (1  Corinthians  10.  20),  the  worship  of  idols  is  the 
source  of  the  pagan  world's  immoralities  (Romans  1.  22- 
32).  God  in  the  past  has  been  indulgent  toward  this  idola- 
try and  immorality;  he  now  commands  men  to  turn  from 
idolatry  and  repent  of  their  evil  deeds  (Acts  17.  30,  31). 
The  pagan  world  is  not  excusable  for  its  excesses:  nature 
should  have  revealed  a  better  deity  than  paganism  knew 
(14.  17;  17,  28,  29;  Romans  1.  20).  Judgment  awaits  in 
which  evildoers  shall  be  punished  (Acts  17.  31). 

Salvation  From  Sin. — God  offers  salvation  not  only  from 
the  disasters  these  evils  are  bringing  upon  men  but  also 
from  the  sins  themselves.  He  has  sent  his  Son  into  the 
world,  who  was  crucified  for  our  sins  (Galatians  1.  4;  3.  1; 
1  Corinthians  15.  3).  This  Son,  whom  men  knew  as  Jesus, 
was  raised  from  the  dead  (Acts  17.  18,  31;  1  Thessalonians 
1.  10;  1  Corinthians  15.  3).  He  will  come  again  to 
inaugurate  the  judgment  (1  Thessalonians  1.  10;  5.  1,  2; 
Acts  17.  31).  From  the  sin  and  its  penalty,  awarded  at  the 
time  of  judgment  (Galatians  6.  7,  8),  we  are  saved  by  faith. 
We  are  justified  before  God  not  by  obedience  to  law  but  by 
faith  (Galatians  3.  6-9).  Yet  the  disciples  of  Christ  must 
evidence  this  faith  by  pure  living.  It  was  here,  in  the  giv- 
ing up  of  idols  and  immoral  practices,  that  Christian  liv- 
ing made  its  open  break  with  the  pagan  world.  The  Chris- 
tian message  was  through  and  through  a  moral  message. 
In  every  place  Paul  evidently  charged  his  converts  from 
paganism  with  the  necessity  of  pure  living  (1  Thessalonians 
4.  1-7;  Galatians  5.  13-26).  This  salvation  from  the  wrath 
of  the  impending  judgment  and  from  evil  living  was  assured 
and  experienced  by  mystical  union  with  Christ  (1  Thessa- 
lonians 5.  10;  Galatians  2.  20;  3.  5). 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

FauPs  Preaching  to  the  Gentiles  Presents  a  Distinct 

54 


THE  EARLY-CHRISTIAN'  MESSAGE 

Advance  in  Kingdom  Conquest  Along  Social  Lines. — To 

unite  men  of  many  races  and  various  stages  of  social 
achievement  into  one  brotherhood  involves  a  recognition  of 
the  good  in  all.  Judaism  in  Paul's  day  saw  no  value  in 
paganism.  Dim-eyed  in  sympathy  and  faith,  Jewish  religion 
lacked  the  spiritual  initiative  and  strength  to  seize  upon 
the  Greco-Roman  world  and  build  up  within  it  a  native  reli- 
gious life  on  monotheistic  and  nonidolatrous  lines.  What 
Judaism  failed  to  do,  Christianity  accomplished.  It  did 
this  because  it  was  able  to  recognize  the  good  in  the  pagan 
world  and  to  seize  upon  this  good  as  material  for  the  Chris- 
tian kingdom.  Paganism  for  Paul  was  not  wholly  bad :  it 
and  Christianity  were  not  mutually  exclusive.  Greeks  and 
Jews  had  a  common  origin  in  God.  God  marked  out  the 
boundaries  of  nations ;  he  manifests  himself  in  every  living 
being;  his  providence  is  seen  in  the  rains,  the  sunshine, 
and  the  harvests  of  every  land.  Then,  too,  the  religion  of 
paganism  was  not  wholly  worthless.  It  was  devout  to 
excess  (Acts  17.  22).  The  very  excesses  of  pagan  religion 
express  the  Gentile  world's  groping  after  God  (17.  27). 
The  significant  sociological  element  in  PauPs  preaching 
to  the  Gentiles  is  that  he  turns  aside  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment upon  which  to  ground  his  message  and  bases  it  rather 
in  the  moral  and  religious  consciousness  of  humanity. 

Across  Boundaries 

The  Intellectual  Traveler. — Who  does  not  marvel  at  the 
missionary  journeys  of  Paul?  Yet  more  marvelous  than 
the  unwearied  tours  along  the  highways  of  the  empire  are 
the  intellectual  journeys  he  took  from  the  doctrines  of  his 
forefathers.  Paul  is  preeminently  the  intellectual  traveler 
of  the  early  Christian  world.  Trained  in  Judaism  as  none 
of  his  Christian  coworkers  were,  he  yet  perceived,  most 
clearly  of  all,  the  universal  impulses  of  the  gospel  and  fol- 
lowed them  into  sympathetic  understanding  of  the  Gentile 
world.  Paul's  intellectual  sympathies  placed  him  in  com- 
mand of  early  Christianity. 

Intellectual  largeness. — Shall  we  learn  intellectual 
largeness  from  Paul?     Shall  we  too  renounce  the  static 

55 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

view  of  life?  Shall  we  too  admit  that  all  truth  has  not 
been  discovered  by  our  forefathers  ?  Shall  we  believe  that 
beyond  the  highest  range  of  our  knowledge  dim,  mysterious 
Bummits  of  facts  and  experiences  await  the  intrepid  climbers 
of  the  far-off  years  ?  Shall  we  also  learn  that  theology  is 
not  an  ancient  well  from  which  our  forefathers  drank  and 
were  satisfied,  and  from  which  we  too  must  quench  our 
thirst  or  die,  but  rather  is  a  living  stream  bearing  us  ever 
on  its  deep  bosom  toward  the  infinite  ocean  of  life  with 
God?  "None  of  our  theories  are  quite  large  enough  for 
all  the  disclosures  of  time,'^  wrote  George  Eliot,  and  the 
passing  centuries  do  reveal  in  every  department  of  life  that 
ancient  formulas,  like  the  old  wineskins  of  the  gospel  par- 
able, are  too  frail  for  the  wider  and  richer  experiences  of 
mankind.  Who  cannot  see  also  that  Paul  was  a  spiritual 
journeyer?  To  turn  from  Jew  to  Gentile  enriched  the 
content  of  his  own  soul.  From  Tarsus  to  Athens  is  the 
symbol  of  the  journey  from  the  righteousness  of  the  law 
to  the  peace  of  the  indwelling  Christ.  Paul's  spiritual 
experiences  resembled  a  runner  pushing  toward  the  goal. 
He  kept  an  attitude  of  daily  expectancy  of  revelation  from 
God.  He  knew  that  the  full  content  of  his  orders  had  not 
been  given  at  Damascus.  At  Antioch,  the  borders  of 
Bithynia,  at  Troas,  at  every  city,  there  came  fresh  indica- 
tions of  the  divine  will.  The  present  was  continually  aglow 
with  new  discoveries  of  the  counsel  and  the  comfort  of  his 
Christ. 

Spiritual  Expectancy. — We  too  must  stand  a-tiptoe  with 
spiritual  expectancy.  Mighty  Kingdom  movements  are 
waiting  until  we  stop  brooding  over  the  past  and  idolizing 
ancient  religious  experiences  and  turn  with  wonder  and 
faith  and  love  toward  coming  revelations  and  commissions 
from  God.  We  must  believe  still  in  prophecy :  the  eternal 
Spirit  still  plays  on  the  human  soul  and  gives  man  new 
vision  and  new  authority.  The  essential  thing  in  religion, 
as  in  every  other  aspect  of  life,  is  not  to  have  reached  some 
particular  point  but  to  be  on  the  move.  In  the  infinite 
universe  the  spiritual  roads  have  no  final  milestones.  To 
keep  our  faces  set  toward  the  celestial  city,  to  travel  hope- 

56 


THE  EARLY-CHRISTIAN  MESSAGE 

fully,  is  a  better  thing  than  to  have  stopped  at  any  hos- 
pitable spiritual  caravansary  along  life's  highways. 

The  Undreamed-of  Good  in  Men. — It  is  when  we  cross 
social  and  racial  boundaries  that  we  discover  an  undreamed 
good  in  men.  We  never  shall  come  to  terms  with  the  man 
or  the  community  we  wish  to  win  unto  Christ  until  we 
start  with  the  good  in  them.  We  must  approach  the  task 
of  Kingdom  building  with  the  consciousness  that  men  are 
of  one  blood.  Nations  are  not  great  through  victorious 
war.  The  conquering  people  have  shed  their  own  blood  in 
the  conquered.  One  blood  runs  in  pauper  and  millionaire, 
in  Mayflower  posterity  and  the  Slavic  slave  of  toil,  in 
Anglo-Saxon  and  the  slant-eyed  Japanese. 

An  Enlarging  Conception  of  God. — Paul  found  a  greater 
God  in  Athens  than  he  knew  in  Jerusalem.  The  Deity 
whom  he  came  to  know  in  his  journeyings  and  preaching 
lived  on  intimate  terms  not  only  with  the  Jew  but  also  with 
the  uncircumcised  Greek.  In  him  the  heathen  world  also 
had  its  sustaining  life.  To  enter  sympathetically  into  the 
life  of  other  churches  and  other  religions  is  to  discover  a 
larger  God  than  we  hitherto  have  found  in  our  sect.  Their 
prayers  ascend  also  to  our  God,  and  from  him  too  come 
their  impulses  to  good. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  was  the  leading  theme  of  the  earliest  Christian 
preaching  to  the  Jews? 

2.  What  conception  of  the  person  of  Jesus  was  held  by 
(1)  the  Christian  preacher  and  (2)  the  orthodox  Jewish 
hearer? 

3.  What  did  Messiahship  mean  to  the  Jews? 

4.  In  what  way  did  early  Christian  preaching  prove  Jesus 
to  be  the  Messiah? 

5.  Explain  the  emphasis  given  in  the  early  preaching  to 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus. 

6.  What  conditions  led  to  the  conviction  that  the  death 
of  Christ  was  necessary  to  salvation? 

7.  How  did  Paul  explain  the  saving  value  of  the  d€ath  of 
Jesus  Christ? 

8.  Who  were  the  "God-fearing"? 

9.  What  was  the  content  of  the  preaching  to  the  "God- 
fearing"? 

57 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

10.  Why  was  the  acceptance  of  the  Messianic  character  of 
Jesus  followed  by  forgiveness  of  sins? 

11.  Discuss  the  "God-fearing"  at  Thessalonica  and  Berea. 

12.  What  were  the  nationality  and  religious  beliefs  of  the 
pagan  hearers  of  the  early  Christian  preachers? 

13.  Discuss  Paul's  preaching  to  the  Gentiles  under  the  fol- 
lowing topics:  (a)  the  one  true  God's  revelation  of  himself; 
(&)  the  value  of  idolatry;  (c)  the  moral  abasement  of  Gentile 
life;   (d)  the  inevitable  judgment;    (e)  the  way  of  escape. 

14.  What  elements  in  the  Gentile  world  gave  Paul's  mes- 
sage its  opportunity  to  grip  the  Gentile  life? 

15.  How  far  was  Paul  fitted  to  reach  both  the  common  peo- 
ple and  the  cultured  Greeks? 

16.  In  what  way  did  Paul's  preaching  to  the  Gentiles  pre- 
sent a  distinct  advance  in  Kingdom  conquest  along  social 
lines? 

17.  To  what  extent  did  the  Jews  and  Greeks  have  a  common 
basis  for  their  religion? 

Reading  References 

The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity,  Harnack,  Vol- 
ume I,  pages  86-100. 

Paul  and  His  Epistles,  Hayes,  pages  151-57. 

The  Beginnings  of  Christianity,  Wernle,  Volume  I,  pages 
174-222. 

The  Doctrine  of  the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ,  Macintosh, 
pages  39-44. 


58 


CHAPTER   V 
THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION 

At  about  the  year  a.  d.  50  there  took  place  a  conference 
between  Paul  and  the  leaders  of  the  mother  church  at  Jeru- 
salem. In  writing  of  this  council  to  the  Christians  in 
Galatia,  Paul  distinguishes  the  gospel  of  the  uncircumcision 
from  the  gospel  of  the  circumcision.  It  appears  from  the 
second  chapter  of  Galatians  that  the  Christian  community 
had  split  into  two  factions,  and  that  henceforth  there  were 
to  be  two  gospels  and  two  churches  instead  of  one.  It 
seemed  inevitable  that  there  must  be  both  a  Jewish  and  a 
Gentilic  Christianity. 

This  chapter  traces  this  widening  breach,  sets  forth  the 
content  of  Jewish  Christianity,  and  estimates  its  contribu- 
tion to  the  kingdom  of  God. 

The  Breach  in  the  Christian  Community 

Jewish  Christians  Versus  Gentile. — The  widespread 
preaching  that  followed  the  stoning  of  Stephen  through  cer- 
tain Hellenistic  Jewish  Christians  reached  the  Gentiles  at 
Antioch  (Acts  11.  20) ;  and  "the  hand  of  the  Lord"  was 
with  these  adventurers  who  opened  the  door  of  the  king- 
dom of  God  to  the  Gentile  world.  For  these  Hellenistic 
Jews,  living  at  a  distance  from  Jerusalem  before  their 
acceptance  of  Christianity,  the  ceremonial  bonds  of  Juda- 
ism had  been  loosened,  and  it  was  not  demanded  of  these 
Gentile  converts  that  they  should  be  circumcised.  When  Paul 
and  Barnabas  returned  to  Antioch,  fresh  from  their  tri- 
umph among  the  Gentiles  of  Galatia,  a  new  impulse  was 
given  to  the  evangelization  of  the  Gentiles  in  Antioch. 
Reports  of  these  things  reached  Jerusalem,  and  certain  of 
the  Jewish  Christians  of  that  city,  incensed  at  these  irregu- 
larities, came  to  Antioch  (Acts  15.  1)  and  insisted  that  the 

59 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Jewish  law  was  binding  even  upon  Gentilic  Christians. 
The  Jewish  Christians  up  to  this  time  were  strict  observers 
of  Jewish  law.  They  had  made  no  break  with  Judaism. 
They  continued  to  frequent  the  Temple.  Indeed,  at  first 
they  became  more  zealous  for  the  traditions  of  their  fathers 
because  of  their  expectations  of  the  speedy  return  of  the 
Messiah. 

The  Church  Conference  at  Jerusalem. — Acts  15.  2-5  gives 
the  result  of  this  visit  of  the  Jerusalem  Christians  to  An- 
tioch.  The  conference  at  Jerusalem  occurred  about  A.  d.  50. 
Keep  clearly  in  mind  the  nature  of  the  dispute.  Acts  15.  5 
states  the  position  of  the  stricter  Jewish  Christian  party 
with  reference  to  circumcision  and  the  law.  PauPs  posi- 
tion may  be  gathered  from  the  second  chapter  of  Galatians 
and  Acts  15.  19 — namely,  that  Jewish  law  is  not  binding 
upon  Gentile  Christians.  Paul  seems  at  this  time  to  have 
won  absolutely  his  contention.  The  advocates  of  circum- 
cision evidently  demanded  that  Titus  should  be  circumcised 
(Galatians  2.  3),  but  this  demand  was  successfully  resisted. 
Paul  apparently  was  able  to  win  from  the  heads  of  the  Jeru- 
salem church  a  full  and  friendly  recognition  of  his  posi- 
tion. He  insists  strongly  that  the  pillars  of  Jewish  Chris- 
tianity laid  no  restrictions  upon  him  (Galatians  2.  5,  6) 
and  that  they  parted  on  the  friendliest  terms  (2.  9,  10). 
The  only  requirement  asked  of  Paul,  as  the  apostle  of 
Gentilic  Christianity,  was  the  request  that  he  should  help 
relieve  the  necessities  of  his  Jewish  brethren  in  Jerusalem. 
Acts  15.  20  indicates  that  at  this  time  a  ceremonial  restric- 
tion was  laid  upon  the  Gentile  brethren.  This  statement 
can  best  be  harmonized  with  PauPs  positive  declaration  to 
the  contrary  by  following  the  hint  given  in  Acts  21.  18-26, 
especially  verse  25.  Here  it  seems  that  the  Jewish  Chris- 
tian authorities,  in  asking  Paul  to  conform  to  a  Jewish 
ceremonial,  urge  that  they  have  written  to  Gentile  Chris- 
tians imposing  upon  them  a  certain  amount  of  Jewish 
ritualism  as  well  as  moral  law.  This  is  offered  as  some- 
thing new  to  Paul  and  something  that  occurred  at  a  later 
period  than  the  council  of  a.  d.  50. 

The  Dispute  at  Antioch. — After  the  friendly  settlement 

60 


THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION 

in  Jerusalem,  Paul  and  Barnabas  returned  to  Antioch. 
Shortly  afterward  Peter  also  arrived  there.  The  fine 
feeling  existing  between  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians 
in  the  church  of  this  city  charmed  Peter,  and  he,  with  all 
other  Christian  Jews  of  the  place,  lived  in  intimate  fel- 
lowship with  the  Gentile  brethren.  But  again  the  stricter 
Jews  came  from  Jerusalem,  this  time  from  James  himself, 
and  out  of  fear  of  these  new  visitors  Peter  and  all  other 
Jews  broke  off  their  Christian  intimacy  with  the  Gentiles. 
Even  Barnabas  likewise  dissembled.  Read  closely  Gala- 
tians  2.  11-21.  Here  occurred  the  second  step  in  the  breach 
of  Gentilic  Christianity  with  Christian  Judaism.  PauPs 
argument  here  is  very  keen.  He  points  out  that  Peter  and 
the  other  Jews,  in  breaking  the  regulations  of  Judaism  by 
eating  with  Gentile  Christians,  have  confessed  in  effect  that 
men  are  justified  before  God  not  by  observance  of  law  but 
by  their  faith  in  Christ.  The  Jerusalem  conference  had 
conceded  that  the  Gentiles  were  so  justified.  Henceforth 
Paul's  gospel  to  the  Jew  was  clear:  "by  the  works  of  the 
law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified."  It  was  this  double  acting 
of  Peter  which  vitiated  the  message  of  Jewish  Christianity 
and  freed  Paul  from  the  last  obligation  of  Jewish  law. 
Henceforth  he  set  his  face  westward  with  one  gospel  for 
the  whole  world.  He  saw  that  Christianity  could  be  a  liv- 
ing power  only  in  freedom  from  the  unyielding  grip  of 
Judaism.  "I  do  not  make  void  the  grace  of  God,"  he 
exclaimed:  "for  if  righteousness  is  through  the  law,  then 
Christ  died  for  nought." 

Factions  in  Jewish  Christianity 

Those  Who  Placed  Faith  in  Christ  Above  the  Obligations 
of  the  Law. — These  could  not  have  constituted  a  large  party 
at  first.  The  Jewish  Christians  at  Antioch  belonged  to 
this  group.  Despite  their  temporary  dissimulation  under 
the  leadership  of  Peter  they  soon  returned  to  their  former 
views.  After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Jewish  Chris- 
tianity in  all  the  Greek  coast  towns  passed  over  into  the 
Gentilic  type.  Even  Peter,  judging  by  1  Peter,  eventually 
approximated  Paul's  positions.     Such  Jewish  Christians, 

61 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

both  by  their  views  and  by  the  fanaticism  of  their  stricter 
brethren,  were  thrust  out  into  Gentilic  Christianity. 

Those  Who  Believed  That  the  Law  Was  Binding  Upon 
Jewish  Christians  but  That  the  Gentile  Christians  Were 
Not  Obligated  by  Its  Provisions. — James  and  John  were 
the  leaders  of  this  party. 

Those  Who  Believed  That  Jewish  Law  Was  Obligatory 
Upon  All  Christians. — Acts  6.  7;  15.  5;  21.  20  indicate  the 
reason  for  this  stricter  Jewish  party  and  the  extent  of  its 
influence.  It  was  this  party  which,  refusing  to  be  bound 
by  the  conference  of  a.  d.  50,  dogged  the  footsteps  of  Paul 
to  the  end  of  his  days. 

(a)  These  Judaizers  followed  Paul  first  to  Galatia. — 
These  men  boldly  attacked  both  Paul's  gospel  and  his 
apostolate.  They  claimed  that  it  was  a  false  gospel,  and 
that  Paul  was  without  authority  to  conduct  a  mission 
among  Gentiles.  They  said  that  he  was  trying  to  please 
men  (Galatians  1.  10)  ;  that  he  sometimes  had  preached 
circumcision  (5.  11) ;  that  he  was  the  enemy  of  his  con- 
verts (4.  16).  They  demanded  that  these  Gentile  Chris- 
tians must  be  circumcised  (5.  12 ;  6.  13) .  Paul  justifies  his 
gospel  by  its  effect  upon  his  own  life  (1.  11-17),  by  the 
fact  that  it  was  a  revelation  from  Christ  himself  (1.  12), 
that  he  had  won  for  it  the  approval  of  the  Jerusalem 
authorities  (2.  9),  and  that  it  had  been  eminently  fruitful 
in  transforming  the  lives  of  the  Gentiles  (3.  5 ;  5.  7). 

(6)  They  pursued  him  to  Corinth. — Bringing  letters  of 
introduction  (2  Corinthians  3.  1)  and  boasting  in  their 
Jewish  Christianity — the  only  true  Christianity  (11.  22)  — 
they  declare  that  Paul  is  no  apostle  (11.  5;  12.  11-13); 
that  the  gospel  he  proclaims  is  difficult  and  mysterious 
(4.  3) ;  that  Paul  is  rude  in  speech  (11.  6) ;  that  he  can 
write  sharply  and  boldly,  but  when  face  to  face  with  men 
his  speech  is  humble,  and  his  demeanor  cowardly  (10.  1) ; 
that  he  is  crafty,  catches  men  with  guile  (12.  16)  ;  that  he 
corrupts  those  who  listen  to  him,  taking  advantage  of  the 
simple-minded  (7.  2) ;  that  he  prides  himself  on  taking  no 
money  from  the  Corinthians  but  is  secretly  supported  by 
other  churches  (11.  7,  8) ;  and  that  he  is  guilty  of  shame- 

62 


THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION 

ful  things  in  secret  (4.  2).  Paul  justly  denounces  these 
Judaizers  as  false  apostles :  the  hypocrites  have  no  authority 
for  their  propaganda — they  have  fashioned  themselves  into 
apostles  (11.  13).  They  preach  another  Jesus  and  a  dif- 
ferent gospel  (11.  4).  Paul  justifies  his  apostolate  by  (1) 
his  sacrifices  for  the  gospel  (11.  23-33),  (2)  his  revelations 
from  Christ  (12.  1-15),  and  (3)  the  fruits  of  his  ministry 
among  them  (12.  12,  13). 

Later  History  of  the  Jerusalem  Church 
the  church  leaders 

At  A.  D.  50.— It  appears  (Acts  12.  17)  that  James 
came  to  the  headship  of  the  church  eight  or  nine  years 
previously  during  the  persecution  of  the  Christians  by 
King  Agrippa  I.  Pilate,  the  Roman  procurator  of  Judea 
at  the  time  of  the  crucifixion,  was  deprived  of  office  in 
A.  D.  36.  Other  Roman  governors  took  his  place  until  41, 
when  Agrippa  was  made  king  of  Judea  by  the  emperor 
Claudius.  Agrippa  died  in  44.  Once  more  Roman  gov- 
ernors ruled  the  land.  Felix  was  procurator  from  52  to  60. 
Festus  (60-62)  succeeded  Felix  and  died  in  office.  During 
these  years  there  was  continual  friction  between  the  Jews 
and  their  governors.  Affairs  passed  continually  from  bad 
to  worse.  Floras  (64-66)  appropriated  the  Temple  treas- 
ures and  so  precipitated  the  Jewish  uprising  against  Rome 
which  ended  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (a.  d.  70). 
The  horrors  of  the  siege  are  vividly  described  by  Josephus. 

During  the  Rule  of  Agrippa  I. — The  apostles  now  seem 
to  have  set  out  on  their  long-delayed  mission  to  evangelize 
the  world.  Where  they  traveled  or  to  whom  they  preached, 
with  the  exception  of  John,  is  unknown.  Paul  is  aware 
that  they  are  in  the  field  with  their  wives  (1  Corinthians 
9.  5)  but  he  does  not  indicate  the  place  of  their  labors. 
It  is  almost  evident  that  their  preaching  was  confined  to  the 
Jews.  In  Galatians  2.  9  Paul  affirms  that  the  pillars  of 
the  Jerusalem  church  regarded  the  Jewish  mission  as 
peculiarly  their  own  and  he  gives  no  hint  that  this  agree- 
ment ever  was  violated.    That  John  in  his  later  years  was  a 

63 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

resident  of  Ephesus  is  the  universal  testimony  of  the  earli- 
est church  fathers.  That  Andrew  is  the  patron  saint  of 
Russia,  Greece,  and  Scotland  shows  the  value  of  the  tradi- 
tions concerning  the  other  apostles. 

After  the  Martyrdom  of  James. — James  suffered  martyr- 
dom about  A.  D.  61.  He  was  succeeded  by  another  relative 
of  Jesus,  his  cousin  Simeon,  the  son  of  Cleopas.^  After 
him  there  was  a  succession  of  leaders  or  bishops  of  the 
mother  church  who  strictly  clung  to  the  observance  of 
Jewish  ceremonial  law.  When  the  Roman  army  approached 
Jerusalem,  the  Christians  withdrew  from  the  city  (Mat- 
thew 24.  15-21),  passed  over  the  Jordan,  and  took  up 
residence  at  Pella,  one  of  the  Greek  cities  of  the  Decapolis.^ 
From  this  city  Jewish  Christianity,  in  the  course  of  time, 
spread  into  other  districts  and  lingered  along  the  Jordan 
and  the  Dead  Sea  until  the  fourth  century. 

SECTS   OP   THE   LATER    JEWISH    CHURCH 

Jewish  Christianity  Loses  Its  Vitality. — Up  until  the 
middle  of  the  second  century  Jewish  Christians  undoubt- 
edly formed  the  great  majority  of  believers  in  Palestine 
and  they  must  have  continued  for  at  least  another  cen- 
tury their  attempts  to  bring  Gentile  Christians  into  ob- 
servance of  the  customs  of  Judaism;  but  Jewish  Chris- 
tianity eventually  lost  its  vitality  through  its  insistence 
that  Christianity  was  a  purified  Judaism  and,  therefore,  a 
national  religion.  It  was  the  fate  of  this  branch  of  the 
Christian  Church  to  break  up  into  sects  that  eventually 
became  lost  into  Gentile  Christianity,  into  Judaism,  or 
into  Mohammedanism. 

The  Way  They  Went. — The  divisions  within  Jewish 
Christianity  in  PauFs  day  maintained  themselves  at  least 
for  another  century  after  the  conference  in  Jerusalem. 
Justin  Martyr,  who  wrote  about  a.  d.  140,  in  discussing 
Jewish  Christianity  makes  this  clear.  During  this  period 
the  terms  "Nazarene"  and  "Ebionite"  seem  to  have  been 
applied  with  little  distinction  to  Jewish  Christians.     The 

1  Church  History,  Eusebius,  Volume  III,  Chapter  11. 
» Ibid.,  Chapter  V. 

64 


THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION 

latter  word,  meaning  "the  poor,"  was  either  applied  to  them 
by  their  enemies  in  ridicule  of  their  poverty  or  assumed  by 
themselves  to  express  the  fact  that  they  were  "the  poor  in 
spirit/'  as  commanded  by  Jesus.  Irenaeus,  who  died  about 
200,  applies  the  name  "Ebionite"  to  a  sect  of  Jewish 
Christians  who  now  differed  so  much  in  their  views  from 
the  prevailing  Christian  beliefs  that  they  were  regarded  as 
heretics.  They  still  regarded  the  observance  of  Jewish  law 
as  essential  to  salvation.  Origen  (died  about  250),  Euse- 
bius  (died  about  340),  and  Jerome  (died  about  420)  all 
evidence  the  breaking  up  of  Jewish  Christianity.  Those 
among  them  who  more  nearly  approximated  orthodox  Chris- 
tianity were  probably  absorbed  into  the  Syriac-speaking 
Christian  churches.  The  various  heretical  forms  must 
have  lingered  on  till  the  time  of  Mohammed  and  become 
absorbed  in  the  faith  of  Islam. 

Jewish  Christian  Literature 

The  Epistle  of  James. — The  date  of  this  letter  is  uncer- 
tain, but  it  seems  to  have  been  written  before  the  breach 
between  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christianity  was  embittered 
by  the  Judaizers  who  dogged  the  footsteps  of  Paul;  or  else 
James,  making  little  reference  to  the  Gentiles,  wished  to 
express  his  loyalty  to  the  agreement  that  the  pillars  of  the 
Jerusalem  church  should  confine  their  ministry  to  the  Jew. 
Observe  that  here,  as  in  the  preaching  of  Peter,  Jesus  is  the 
Messiah  (James  1.  1;  2.  1)  and  that  he  is  the  "Lord  of 
glory" — that  is,  he  has  passed  through  death,  is  resurrected, 
and  has  ascended  into  heaven.  Note  the  writer's  loyalty  to 
the  law  (2.  8-13;  4.  11,  12).  The  emphasis  upon  works  is 
the  Jewish  emphasis  upon  ethical  deeds  (2.  14-26).  The 
faults  James  condemns  are  the  customary  Jewish  faults 
that  Jesus  also  denounced.  Compare  the  emphasis  in  this 
Epistle  upon  love,  mercy,  and  helpful  ministry  (1.  26,  27; 
2.  15,  16;  5.  1-6)  with  the  teaching  of  Jesus  (Matthew 
12.  7;  15.  2-9;  23,  23).  James  feels  the  selfsame  spirit 
of  brotherhood  which  Jesus  made  fundamental  in  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

The  Second  Epistle  of  Peter. — This  letter  was  written  to 

65 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

those  Christians  unto  whom  the  apostles  themselves,  or  at 
least  some  of  them,  had  proclaimed  the  gospel  (2  Peter 
1.  16;  3.  2).  This  would  limit  it  to  Jewish  Christians 
(Galatians  2.  9)  and  without  doubt  to  the  Jewish  church 
in  Palestine,  since  there  is  no  hint  in  Paul's  letters  either 
that  the  agreement  of  the  Jerusalem  conference  was  broken, 
or  that  any  of  the  Twelve  passed  beyond  the  limits  of 
Palestine  during  PauFs  lifetime.  If  Peter  did  reach  Rome 
during  Paul's  imprisonment,  this  letter  may  have  been 
written  about  a.d.  63.  Here  too  are  to  be  noticed  those  refer- 
ences to  Jewish  history  and  tradition  which  would  not  have 
been  intelligible  to  Gentiles  (2  Peter  2.  5,  6,  7,  15),  the 
angelology  (2.  4,  11),  the  taunt  concerning  the  Messiah's 
advent  which  would  come  with  keener  thrust  from  Jews 
(3.  4).  Since  these  evil-minded  persons  against  whom  the 
Jewish  Christian  readers  of  this  Epistle  are  warned  are 
Christian  brethren  (2.  13),  and  since  such  fellowship  would 
have  been  impossible  between  Gentiles  and  those  Jewish 
Christians  unto  whom  the  apostles  had  proclaimed  the 
gospel,  there  is  sufficient  evidence  to  believe  that  Peter,  who 
belonged  to  the  liberal  group  of  Jewish  Christians,  is  here 
arraigning  those  among  the  church  of  the  circumcision  who, 
with  time,  became  more  and  more  reactionary  toward 
Judaism. 

The  Epistle  of  Jude. — This  letter  is  an  impassioned 
warning  to  Jewish  Christians  against  evil  and  heretical 
teachers.  This  letter  was  written,  with  great  probability, 
within  a  few  years  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
Such  an  event  was  calculated  to  be  the  beginning  of  the 
wilder  Ebionite  and  Gnostic  defections  from  orthodox  Jew- 
ish beliefs.  The  commonly  believed  views  of  Christ  are 
being  assailed  (verse  4) ;  these  heretical  views  are  held  by 
those  whose  lives  are  morally  culpable  (verses  16,  18). 
Jude,  who  had  preached  among  Jews  (1  Corinthians  9.  5; 
Galatians  2.  9),  was  planning  a  longer  treatise  for  the 
churches  unto  which  he  had  ministered  (verses  3,  17),  but 
this  work  was  interrupted  by  the  sudden  danger  that 
threatened  the  life  of  his  brethren.  That  the  readers  of  this 
letter  were  Jewish  Christians  is  evident.    They  were  Chris- 

66 


THE  CHUECH  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION 

tians  (verses  1,  4).  That  they  were  Jews  is  seen  from  the 
many  references  to  Jewish  literature  which  were  unknown 
or  obscure  to  Gentiles.  Observe  also  the  distinctly  Jewish 
angelology  (verses  6,  14). 

The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles. — This  book,  also 
called  "Didache"  (a  teaching),  was  discovered  in  manu- 
script in  1873  in  a  monastery  at  Constantinople.  Al- 
though it  is  no  larger  than  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  it 
throws  a  great  deal  of  light  on  the  early  church.  The 
first  six  chapters  are  known  as  "The  Two  Ways."  This 
portion  is  believed  to  have  been  in  circulation  by  a.  d.  70. 
The  entire  book  was  written  not  later  than  90.  Un- 
doubtedly it  is  a  product  of  Jewish  Christianity,  after 
the  spirit  of  James  and  the  early  Christian  community 
described  in  the  first  chapters  of  Acts.  It  gives  us  a  pic- 
ture of  the  worship,  the  ministry,  and  the  ethical  teachings 
of  this  Jewish  Christianity  which,  although  feeling  itself 
a  spiritualized  Judaism,  looked  sympathetically  upon  the 
mission  to  the  Gentiles.  It  therefore  possessed  sufficient 
catholic  spirit  to  have  commended  it  in  wider  fields  than 
in  the  Palestinian  church  of  its  origin.  The  Apostolic 
Church  Ordinance,  which  circulated  in  Egypt  about  a.  d. 
400,  is  an  adaptation  of  the  Didache.  The  Apostolic 
Constitutions  (fourth  or  fifth  century  a.  d.),  containing 
"The  Two  Ways"  almost  verbatim,  evidence  the  widely 
extended  influence  of  this  early  Jewish-Christian  book. 

Summaey:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  Literary  Contribution  of  the  Church  of  the  Circum- 
cision to  the  Kingdom. — The  church  of  the  circumcision 
has  put  the  entire  Christian  world  in  its  debt  on  account 
of  its  literature.  Greater  than  the  works  discussed  above 
are  the  Gospels.  Matthew,  Mark,  and  John  were  mem- 
bers and  missionaries  of  the  mother  church,  and  their  pres- 
ervation and  publication  of  the  sayings  and  deeds  of  Jesus 
are  a  priceless  gift,  sufficient  to  immortalize  these  writers 
forever.  Apart  from  any  spoken  gospel  these  writings  of 
the  Jewish  Christian  Church  have  had  and  still  must 
have  an  incalculable  power  to   awaken  the  human  con- 

67 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

science,  to  fashion  loftier  ideals,  and  to  quicken  in  men 
fellowship  with  God.  To  estimate  their  transforming 
power  in  the  language,  literature,  and  social  conceptions  of 
mankind  is  impossible. 

The  Contribution  of  Moral  and  Social  Education. — Jew- 
ish Christianity,  during  its  comparatively  short-lived  exist- 
ence, contributed  powerfully  to  the  moral  and  social  educa- 
tion of  the  world.  Take  as  an  example  the  strong  urging 
of  James  that  the  spirit  of  Christian  brotherhood  is  to  be 
expressed  in  deeds.  He  calls  the  command  "Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself"  "the  royal  law"  (James  2.  8) 
and  then  demands  its  visible  fulfillment.  Not  only  must 
the  old  Mosaic  commandments  be  kept  by  the  Christian 
brotherhood,  but  external  conditions  such  as  wealth  must 
introduce  no  distinctions  among  brethren.  This  Jewish 
Christianity  sounds  the  ancient  Hebrew  social  note  with 
undiminished  vigor.  Religion  that  believes  and  does  not 
act,  which  prays  and  never  labors,  is  barren.  "By  works 
a  man  is  justified,  and  not  only  by  faith"  (2.  24).  Wisdom, 
too,  is  expressed  not  in  words  primarily  but  in  good  deeds 
(3.  13).  Profits  unfairly  withheld  by  the  capitalist  con- 
stitute him  a  murderer  (5.  6).  True  religion  is  social 
service  and  individual  morality  (1.  27). 

The  Spirit  of  Ethical  Brotherhood. — Every  extant  frag- 
ment even  of  these  Jewish  Christian  writings  breathes  this 
spirit  of  ethical  brotherhood.  St.  Jerome  preserves  a 
saying  from  the  so-called  Nazarene  Gospel:  "Never  be 
glad  except  when  you  look  with  love  at  your  brother." 
Origen  hands  down  to  us  a  similar  social  feeling  in  a  quota- 
tion from  a  lost  "Gospel  of  the  Hebrews."  It  is  a  part 
of  the  reply  of  Jesus  to  the  rich  young  man  who  claimed 
that  he  had  kept  the  commandments:  "How  do  you  say, 
'I  have  done  the  Law  and  the  Prophets'?  For  it  is  writ- 
ten in  the  Law,  *You  shall  love  your  neighbor  as  yourself,' 
and  lo,  there  are  many  brothers  of  yours,  sons  of  Abraham, 
clothed  in  filth,  dying  of  hunger,  while  your  house  is  full 
of  many  goods,  and  nothing  at  all  goes  out  of  it  to  them." 
The  Apostolic  Constitutions,  which  carry  the  teaching  of 
"The  Two  Ways"  into   the   Gentile   Christianity  of  the 

68 


THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION 

fourth  century,  declare,  ^'Thou  shalt  not  say  thy  goods  are 
thine  own,  for  the  common  participation  of  the  necessaries 
of  life  is  appointed  to  all  men  by  God."  Compare  the  fol- 
lowing list  of  evils,  taken  from  ''The  Two  Ways,"  with 
those  condemned  in  Romans  1.  29-31  and  Galatians  5.  19- 
21 :  "The  Way  of  Death  is  known  by  its  wicked  practices: 
murders,  adulteries,  fornications,  perjuries,  unlawful  lusts, 
thefts,  idolatries,  magic  arts,  witchcrafts,  rapines,  false  wit- 
nesses, hypocrisies,  double-heartedness,  deceit,  pride,  malice, 
insolence,  covetousness,  obscene  talk,  jealousy,  haughtiness, 
arrogance,  impudence,  persecution  of  the  good,  enmity  to 
truth,  love  of  lies,  ignorance  of  righteousness."  PauPs 
intense  moral  consciousness  is  a  Jewish  inheritance. 

The  Religion  of  the  Kingdom  Ethicized. — It  is  the  glory 
of  the  Hebrew  religion  and  of  Christianity  that  religion  is 
thoroughly  ethicized.  We  need  only  turn  to  the  primitive 
religious  beliefs  of  native  Africans  or  the  religious  prac- 
tices of  non-Christian  India  and  China  to  realize  the  incom- 
parable glory  of  our  Christian  heritage.  It  was  the  moral 
teaching  of  Judaism  broadened,  spiritualized,  and  given  a 
depth  of  social  feeling  by  Jesus  which  finds  expression  in 
the  more  liberal  Jewish  Christian  communities  and,  through 
them,  becomes  the  ethical  basis  of  Christianity's  appeal  to 
the  world.  This  is  glory  enough  for  any  people.  It  is  a 
far  step  in  the  long  coming  kingdom  of  God. 

The  Wandering  Jew 

Hammered  Into  Thinking.— It  is  not  the  confetti  but 
the  hammer  that  hits  a  man  which  sets  him  thinking  and 
acting.  We  have  Galatians  and  2  Corinthians  because  Paul 
was  hammered.  Those  sincere  legalists  who  dogged  the 
steps  of  Paul  from  city  to  city  and  land  to  land  drove  him 
out  of  legalism  into  Christ.  Dead  to  law,  alive  in  Christ, 
is  the  gospel  into  which  their  persecution  drove  him.  No 
slight  "peace  out  of  pain"  this ;  no  faint-scented  rose  bloom- 
ing in  the  midst  of  thorns. 

For  a  Cause. — It  is  every  man's  duty  to  be  sincere  and  to 
feel  strongly.    It  is  only  such  who  sacrifice  for  a  cause.    It 

69 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

takes  a  cause  to  create  heroic  life.  A  poor  cause  is  better 
than  none.  These  Jews  who  tramped  to  Antioch  in  pur- 
suit of  Paul  did  not  live  vainly.  It  was  a  weary  trail  they 
took,  and  Paul  outran  them.  But  our  Tarsian  evangelist 
undoubtedly  was  chased  by  them  into  a  world-challenging 
interpretation  of  his  Damascus  experience.  Never  damn 
the  man  who  persecutes  you.  It  may  be  God  has  loaned 
him  his  hammer  for  your  good. 

On  Our  Trail. — But  these  troublers  of  the  Gentile  Israel 
were  not  the  only  Jewish  wanderers:  the  Hebrew's  royal 
law  has  dogged  us  through  the  centuries.  It  has  given  man 
no  rest.  It  gives  the  Christian  no  quiet  now.  "Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor" — not  his  wife  nor  her  husband — "as 
thyself.''  What  a  royal  law  it  is !  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
poor  neighbor,  thy  rich  neighbor,  thy  ignorant  neighbor, 
thy  dirty  neighbor,  thy  criminal  neighbor,  thy  crazy  neigh- 
bor, thy  brutal,  covetous,  stingy  neighbor,  as  thyself.  My 
God,  what  an  awful  law  this  is !  It  breaks  up  our  selfish- 
ness, our  self-complacency,  our  sense  of  perfection.  It  hum- 
bles us  in  shame.  Must  we  be  dragged  down  to  the  level 
of  living  neighborly  with  all  people,  black  and  yellow,  by 
this  dog  of  a  wandering  Jewish  law?  God  help  us;  we 
too  must  fall  into  the  arms  of  Jesus  Christ. 

A  Moral  Pointed. — The  Twelve  in  their  wanderings  also 
point  a  moral.  Sent  to  "the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel,"  they  themselves  were  lost.  "Ye  shall  not  have  gone 
through  the  cities  of  Israel,  till  the  Son  of  man  be  come." 
Twice  lost,  who  knows  precisely  where  they  proclaimed 
their  risen  Messianic  Lord?  Who  knows  the  testing  of 
their  faith  by  his  delayed  coming?  Wanderers  out  into 
a  double  darkness,  forgotten,  lost!  Lost?  No,  a  thou- 
sand times  no !  No  good  deed  is  ever  lost ;  no  earnest  soul 
ever  is  crushed  by  darkness.  From  every  village  the  Twelve 
entered  there  streamed  forth  love  and  light  into  the  farthest 
comer  of  the  world.  The  sick  they  healed  have  sent  the 
radiant  rays  of  their  faith  through  the  centuries.  The 
synagogues  where  they  were  scourged,  the  tribunals  where 
their  mission  was  challenged,  the  house  which  closed  its 
door  against  them,  have  but  testified  by  their  persecution 

70 


THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION 

to  the  glory  of  their  lives.    No  good  deed  ever  dies ;  no  good 
life  ever  is  silenced;  no  true  faith  ever  loses  its  shining. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  Why  were  Hellenistic  Jews  best  fitted  to  be  mission- 
aries to  the  Gentiles? 

2.  Discuss  the  subject  of  debate  at  the  Jerusalem  confer- 
ence of  A.  D.  50.  State  the  position  taken  by  Paul,  James,  and 
John. 

3.  Why  did  the  stricter  Jews  make  the  demands  they  did? 

4.  What  effect  did  the  outcome  have  on  the  Gentile  branch 
of  the  Christian  Church? 

5.  What  was  the  difference  in  the  position  taken  by  the 
three  factions  in  Jewish  Christianity? 

6.  Who  were  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Jerusalem  church  at 
A.  D.  50?  during  the  rule  of  Agrippa  I?  after  the  death  of 
James? 

7.  How  came  Jewish  Christianity  to  lose  its  power? 

8.  Where  did  this  wing  of  the  early  church  go? 

9.  Which  of  the  New-Testament  writings  come  under  this 
head? 

10.  Discuss  them  as  Jewish  writings. 

11.  In  what  way  did  the  literature  of  the  church  of  the 
circumcision  contribute  to  the  Kingdom's  progress? 

12.  Which  of  the  Gospel  writers  were  members  of  the 
mother  church? 

13.  What  moral  and  social  values  do  the  Jewish  Christian 
writings  emphasize? 

Illustrative  Readings 

The  Apostolic  Age,  McGiffert,  pages  549-88. 

The  Church  of  the  Apostles,  Ragg,  pages,  69-95. 

The  Wars  of  the  Jews,  Josephus,  Books,  V-VI. 

Article  "Didache"  in  A  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic  Church, 
Hastings. 

The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity,  Harnack,  Vol- 
ume II,  pages  97-120. 


71 


CHAPTEK  VI 

THE  MOEAL  PROBLEMS  OF  A  GENTILE  PARISH 

Feom  occasional  references  in  preceding  chapters  it 
may  be  seen  that  Christianity  had  a  far  greater  ethical  task 
in  Gentilic  communities  than  in  Jewish  circles.  Since  it 
was  the  church  of  the  uncircumcision  which  carried  the 
Christian  conception  of  the  kingdom  of  God  beyond  Jew- 
ish boundaries  into  the  world^s  life,  it  is  very  important  to 
understand  the  social  evils  this  rising  Gentilic  Christianity 
faced  and  the  manner  in  which  it  conquered  them. 

Pagan  Corinth 

The  location  of  Corinth. — Corinth  undoubtedly  pos- 
sessed the  most  commanding  position  in  Greece.  Situated 
on  the  northern  slope  of  the  steep  mountain  Acrocorinthus, 
which  rose  eighteen  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  within  a  few  miles  of  the  narrow  isthmus  that 
joins  the  Peloponnesus  to  northern  Greece,  Corinth  com- 
manded the  highways  from  north  to  south  and  east  to  west. 
Corinth  controlled  two  harbors.  Lecheum,  on  the  Corin- 
thian Gulf,  with  which  ancient  Corinth  was  connected  by 
walls,  was  the  port  for  the  trade  of  Italy.  Cenchrea,  a 
few  miles  distant,  across  the  isthmus  on  the  Saronic  Gulf, 
was  the  shipping  point  for  the  east.  On  account  of  the 
difiScult  navigation  in  rounding  the  Peloponnesus,  mer- 
chants coming  from  Asia  and  from  Italy  found  it  desirable 
to  use  these  ports  and  transport  their  lading  by  land  from 
the  one  to  the  other.  Corinth  collected  toll  on  all  imports 
and  exports.  This  commerce  and  the  Isthmian  games  cele- 
brated at  Corinth  every  second  year  brought  vast  numbers 
to  the  city,  gave  it  a  cosmopolitan  population,  and  made  it 
wealthy. 

Corinth's  Slave  Population. — Such  a  city  was  sure  to 
become  demoralized  in  a  day  when  there  were  no  strong 

72 


MOEAL  PROBLEMS 

forces  working  for  the  regeneration  of  society.  The  worst 
from  Asia  Minor,  Eg}^pt,  and  Eonie  found  a  home  in 
Corinth.  This  city  was  the  first  to  introduce  into  the 
Greek  world  those  gladiatorial  combats  which  became  the 
fashion  of  Eome  but  which  were  so  repugnant  to  the  Greeks. 
The  only  actual  traces  of  an  amphitheater  in  the  Greek 
world  are  said  to  be  at  Corinth.^  Like  that  of  other  cities 
of  its  time  its  population  was  largely  a  slave  population. 
At  one  time  there  were  four  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
slaves  living  in  Corinth.  In  Greece,  except  at  Athens, 
the  slave  had  no  rights  and  enjoyed  no  protection  from  the 
brutality  of  his  master. 

Licentious  Conditions  in  Corinth. — Sexual  licentiousness 
was  greatly  accentuated  in  Corinth  by  the  worship  of 
Aphrodite.  Strabo,  who  knew  the  Corinth  of  Paul's  day, 
wrote  that  the  temple  of  this  goddess  had  more  than  a 
thousand  women,  courtesans,  dedicated  to  her  service,  and 
that  the  city  v>^as  enriched  by  the  multitudes  who  resorted 
thither  on  account  of  these  women.  Masters  of  ships  and 
soldiers  rich  with  the  booty  of  war  frequented  the  city  and 
freely  squandered  all  their  money  upon  these  harlots.  So 
notorious  was  the  profligacy,  and  so  large  were  the  sums 
spent  in  sensuality,  that  the  proverb  arose :  "Every  man 
cannot  go  to  Corinth.'*  Plutarch  writes  with  little  concern 
of  the  excessive  prostitution  of  his  times.  Fornication  was 
scarcely  incompatible  with  good  manners.  While  the  Greek 
wife  was  kept  indoors  and  was  commonly  faithful  to  her 
husband,  no  shame  attached  to  any  relation  between  either 
married  or  single  men  with  those  women  who  lived  by  their 
bodies. 

The  Founding  of  the  Church  at  Corinth 

Paul's  Problem  at  Corinth.— Read  Acts  18.  1-18.  Paul 
arrived  in  Corinth  apparently  in  the  autumn  of  a.  d.  50  or 
51 — perhaps  as  late  as  53.  According  to  custom  Paul 
preached  Christ  in  the  synagogue.  For  some  weeks  there 
was  no  open  break  with  the  Jews.    Emboldened  by  the  pres- 

1  The  Silver  Age  in  the  Greek  World,  Maha£fy,  page  321. 

73 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

ence  of  Silas  and  Timothy,  Paul  made  his  position  so  clear 
that  fellowship  with  the  synagogal  community  was  no 
longer  possible.  His  preaching,  however,  won  certain  not- 
able converts.  Observe  the  service  rendered  Paul  by  the 
Roman  proconsul  Gallio.  This  Gallio  was  the  older  brother 
of  Seneca,  the  famous  Roman  moral  philosopher.  The 
church  at  Corinth  was  made  up  largely  of  the  Gentile 
population,  whose  moral  failures  have  been  sketched  above. 
Note  the  list  of  wrongdoers  condemned  in  1  Corinthians 
6.  9,  10,  and  observe  Pau?s  words :  "And  such  were  some  of 
you."  In  the  light  of  these  prevalent  sins  consider  the 
ethical  task  of  Christianity  to  construct  an  exemplary 
Christian  community. 

Pastoral  Supervision  by  Letter. — Paul  set  sail  from  Cen- 
chrea  for  Ephesus  (Acts  18.  18  f.)  after  an  eighteen-month 
ministry  in  Corinth.  However,  he  did  not  lose  touch  with 
or  interest  in  Corinth.  Sailings  were  frequent  between 
these  cities;  and  as  there  must  have  been  merchants  and 
seamen  among  the  Corinthian  Christians,  Paul  kept  in- 
formed concerning  the  church  which  up  to  this  time  had 
engrossed  so  much  of  his  labor.  He  was  visited  during 
his  three  years'  stay  in  Ephesus  at  different  times  by  Chris- 
tians from  Corinth  (1  Corinthians  1.  11;  16.  17),  and 
several  letters  passed  between  Paul  and  this  church.  There 
are  records  of  four  such  letters  written  by  Paul.  First 
Corinthians  5.  9  refers  to  the  first  of  these  four  letters. 
This  Epistle  is  no  longer  extant.  It  is  believed,  however, 
that  2  Corinthians  6.  14  to  7.  1  is  a  fragment  of  this  lost 
letter,  which  has  become  embedded  in  2  Corinthians.  Com- 
pare the  subject  referred  to  in  1  Corinthians  5.  9  with  the 
theme  treated  in  2  Corinthians  6.  14  to  7.  1.  It  is  easy  to 
believe  that  this  latter  section  is  indeed  a  portion  of  this 
lost  first  Epistle.  Paul's  second  letter  to  the  Corinthian 
church  is  our  present  1  Corinthians.  This  letter  was 
occasioned  by  tidings  of  disorders  in  the  Corinthian  church 
(1  Corinthians  1.  11)  and  by  certain  questions  put  to  Paul 
in  a  letter  from  the  Christian  community  in  Corinth  (1 
Corinthians  7.  1).  After  the  writing  of  this  letter  Paul 
sent  Timothy  to  Corinth  to  correct  the  evils  dealt  with  in 

74 


MORAL  PROBLEMS 

the  letter  (1  Corinthians  4.  17;  16.  10,  11).  Paul  expected 
to  visit  Corinth  soon  and  to  put  right  the  disorders  that 
were  scandalizing  the  church  (1  Corinthians  4.  19,  21). 

Paul's  Second  Visit  to  Corinth. — In  the  meantime  the 
Judaizers  arrived  in  Corinth  (2  Corinthians  3.  1),  and 
Paul  made  this  promised  second  visit  (2  Corinthians  12. 
14;  13.  1).  Neither  Timothy  nor  Paul  was  able  to  disci- 
pline the  headstrong  church,  and  this  visit  of  the  apostle 
was  not  a  happy  one  (2  Corinthians  2.  1).  During  the  one 
or  two  months  of  this  visit  he  seems  to  have  been  worsted 
by  his  adversaries  and  returned  to  Ephesus  discouraged  and 
disheartened.  In  the  midst  of  affliction,  anguish,  and  weep- 
ing Paul  wrote  a  third  letter  to  the  Corinthians  (2  Corin- 
thians 2.  4;  7.  8).  This  letter  accomplished  what  his  pres- 
ence had  been  unable  to  do  (2  Corinthians  7.  8-16)  : 
Church  discipline  and  Paul's  authority  were  restored  among 
the  Corinthian  Christians. 

Paul's  Joy  Restored:  His  Third  Visit. — There  is  good 
reason  for  believing  that  this  third  letter  is  now  a  part  of 
our  2  Corinthians.  Read  2  Corinthians,  chapters  10  to 
13,  in  the  light  of  the  situation  sketched  above  and  consider 
whether  this  section  does  not  fill  the  requirements  of  the 
supposedly  lost  letter.  The  Judaizers,  taking  advantage 
of  the  factions  in  the  church  and  the  inexperience  of  these 
Christians,  had  attacked  the  gospel  preached  by  both  Paul 
and  his  apostolate.  This  attack,  coupled  with  the  insub- 
ordination of  the  church  in  regard  to  expelling  him  who 
was  guilty  of  incest,  compelled  Paul  to  justify  his  whole 
ministry  among  them.  Not  long  after  writing  his  third 
letter  the  riot  occurred  at  Ephesus,  and  Paul,  anxious  to 
leam  more  of  the  situation  at  Corinth,  set  out  toward  Mace- 
donia (Acts  20.  1).  Evidently  he  had  arranged  to  meet 
Titus,  who  had  carried  this  third  letter  to  Corinth  at 
Troas  (2  Corinthians  2.  13;  7.  13).  But,  not  finding  him 
there,  he  journeyed  on  with  heaviness  of  spirit  along  the  way 
Titus  was  to  come  to  meet  him.  Somewhere  in  Macedonia 
Paul  and  Titus  met,  and  the  apostle  was  informed  of  the 
success  of  his  third  letter.  The  burden  of  his  sorrow  and 
anxiety  was  lifted,  and  joyfully  he  sent  his  fourth  letter 

75 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFOEMERS 

to  the  church  that  had  cost  him  so  much  pain.  This  fourth 
Epistle  is  our  2  Corinthians  with  the  exception  of  the  sec- 
tions assigned  above  to  previous  letters.  After  dispatch- 
ing this  letter  Paul  passed  on  to  Corinth,  where  he  abode 
some  three  months.  Thence  he  returned  through  Mace- 
donia on  his  way  to  Jerusalem.  Thus,  PauPs  guidance  of 
the  Christian  community  of  Corinth  extended  through  a 
period  of  about  five  years. 

The  Conflict  With  the  Decadent  Morals  of 
Paganism 

The  Personnel   of   the   Corinthian   Church.—What   is 

known  of  Crispus?  (1  Corinthians  1.  14;  Acts  18.  8) ;  of 
Gains?  (Romans  16.  23;  1  Corinthians  1.  14);  of  Eras- 
tus?  (Romans  16.  23);  of  Stephanas?  (1  Corinthians 
1.  16;  16.  17).  It  is  conjectured  that  Stephanas  was  some- 
what well  to  do,  and  that  Fortunatus  and  Achaicus  were 
his  slaves.  Certain  women  prominent  enough  to  be  named 
also  belonged  to  this  church.  Chloe  (1  Corinthians  1. 11) 
evidently  was  a  woman  of  substance,  and  Phoebe,  who 
lived  at  Cenchrea  (Romans  16.  1),  a  woman  of  distinc- 
tion. Yet  these  converts  were  the  exception.  The  majority 
of  the  Corinthian  church  were  not  from  the  Jews  but  from 
Gentiles  (1  Corinthians  12.  2)  and  from  the  poor  and 
ignorant  (1  Corinthians  1.  26).  Many  of  them  had  been 
guilty  of  the  grosser  evils  of  pagan  society  (1  Corinthians 
1.  28;  6.  9-11).  Paul  faced  at  Corinth  a  far  different 
task  than  confronted  the  missionaries  of  the  church  of  the 
circumcision,  and  much  more  difficult  than  he  hitherto 
had  met  in  the  Gentile  world. 

The  Development  of  a  Christian  Conscience  in  Matters 
of  Sex. — With  converts  drawn  from  the  licentious  cess- 
pool of  Corinthian  life  the  wonder  is  not  that  lust  appears 
in  the  Corinthian  church  and  is  defended  by  the  church, 
but  that  a  Christian  community  could  be  raised  up  in  the 
midst  of  this  degenerate  pagan  society.  After  eighteen 
months  in  Corinth  even  Paul  states  that  the  Christian  who 
proposes  to  cut  off  all  dealings  with  fornicators  would  by 

76 


MORAL  PROBLEMS 

such  decision  have  to  quit  the  world  (1  Corinthians  5.  9). 
Consider  in  these  circumstances  the  case  of  incest  which 
appeared  in  the  Corinthian  church  (1  Corinthians  5.  1-2). 
Paul  demands  that  this  guilty  man  shall  be  expelled  from 
the  church  (1  Corinthians  5.  3-8).  We  have  seen  that 
neither  Timothy  nor  Paul  was  able  to  induce  the  church  to 
discipline  its  guilty  member.  This  bold  instance  of  lust 
did  not  stand  alone :  others  of  the  church  still  practiced 
their  pagan  immorality  (2  Corinthians  12.  21;  7.  1). 
After  PauFs  third  letter  was  written,  the  Corinthians 
finally  expelled  the  man  in  question.  This  action  brought 
him  to  his  senses,  and  on  repentance  and  upon  the  recom- 
mendation of  Paul  he  was  received  again  into  church  fel- 
lowship (2  Corinthians  2.  5-11). 

Paul  Discusses  Marriage. — In  connection  with  this  sex 
licentiousness  Paul  discusses  the  question  of  marriage.  He 
could  not  so  frankly  have  discussed  the  married  life  had 
he  not  been  dealing  with  converts  only  a  little  removed 
from  the  debasing  practices  of  Corinthian  life.  The  Chris- 
tian ideal  of  marriage  is  the  fidelity  of  husband  and  wife 
to  each  other  (1  Corinthians  7.  1-7).  The  widely  prevail- 
ing and  little-condemned  practice  of  fornication  on  the 
part  of  married  men  must  be  given  up ;  it  cannot  be  toler- 
ated by  Christian  ethics.  There  was  also  the  question  of 
marriages  in  which  one  of  the  parties  was  yet  a  pagan.  If 
2  Corinthians  6.  14  was  a  part  of  Paul's  first  letter,  he  may 
well  have  raised  the  question  he  answers  in  1  Corinthians 
7.  12-16.  In  verse  15  does  Paul  base  the  permitted  divorce 
upon  moral  grounds  or  upon  difference  of  religious  beliefs  ? 
Does  Paul  justify  divorce  for  reasons  other  than  it  was 
permitted  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus?  Observe  that  Paul 
encourages  widows  and  maids  to  remain  unmarried.  On 
occasion  of  new  marriage  Paul  insists  upon  community  of 
faith  (1  Corinthians  7.  39). 

The  Development  of  the  Christian  Ethics  of  Property. — 
Not  only  did  the  earliest  group  of  Corinthian  Christians 
contain  fornicators  (1  Corinthians  5.  11)  but  the  new 
members  did  not  rid  themselves  immediately  of  their 
former  business  practices.     There  were  yet  among  them 

77 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

some  who  were  covetous  and  extortioners  (1  Corinthians 
5.  11,  13).  Such  men  were  sure  to  enter  into  suits  before 
the  civil  courts  to  maintain  their  supposed  interests.  Read 
1  Corinthians  6.  1-10.  Although  Paul  advocated  no  commu- 
nistic ideals  he  never  ceased  to  insist  that  the  Christian  com- 
munity was  a  brotherhood,  and  that  all  property  interests 
must  be  dealt  with  in  the  light  of  this  ideal.  This  spirit 
was  woefully  lacking  in  the  common  meal  eaten  by  the  con- 
gregation in  connection  with  the  Eucharist.  It  was  not 
the  democratic  fellowship  which  Paul  evidently  had  de- 
signed on  the  model  of  the  twelve  apostles  (1  Corinthians 
11.  21,  22)  but  its  mockery;  wherein  the  wealthier  were 
gorged  and  drunken,  and  the  poor  went  hungry.  Close 
reading  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians  indicates  that 
Paul  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  get  these  people  to  feel 
any  bond  with  other  Christian  communities.  Especially 
were  they  disinclined  to  contribute  to  the  relief  of  the  needy 
church  in  Palestine. 

Slavery.— Read  1  Corinthians  7.  20-24.  Why  did  not  this 
Christian  gospel  set  itself  to  the  emancipation  of  the  slave  ? 
To  determine  this  consider  (1)  the  general  Christian 
expectation  of  the  nearness  of  the  second  coming  of  Christ 
to  set  up  the  new  social  order  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on 
earth  (1  Corinthians  7.  29-32;  Matthew  10.  23;  Revelation 
22.  10-12) ;  and  (2)  Paul's  consciousness  of  such  an  inner 
heightening  and  enrichment  of  life  in  Christ  (Galatians 
2.  20)  that  outward  circumstances  possess  indifferent  valua- 
tion: the  slave  becomes  free  in  Christ  (1  Corinthians  7. 
22  f.),  and  the  master  becomes  Christ's  slave.  When  this 
latter  principle  is  truly  grasped,  and  the  expectation  of 
Christ's  speedy  return  no  longer  operates,  what  would  be 
the  effect  on  human  slavery  of  the  proclamation  of  the 
Christian  gospel  ? 

Social  Relations  With  Paganism. — There  was  no  imme- 
diate alteration  in  the  external  conditions  of  these  Corin- 
thian Christians.  They  lived  in  the  same  houses,  had  the 
same  neighbors,  were  confronted  daily  with  the  same  civic 
life.  Not  all  their  relatives  turned  Christian.  Most  of 
their  friends  were  still  immersed  in  paganism.    Must  they 

78 


MORAL  PROBLEMS 

no  more  have  company  with  idolaters  and  accept  no  invita- 
tions to  dinner  (1  Corinthians  10.  27)  ?  Then  must  they 
indeed  "go  out  of  the  world/'  It  was  not  easy  to  break 
these  old  ties.  If  2  Corinthians  6.  14  to  7.  1  is  a  fragment 
of  PauFs  lost  first  letter,  Paul  at  first  demanded  that 
Christians  should  have  no  dealing  with  pagans.  He  never 
withdrew  his  main  contention  that  Christianity  and  idola- 
try are  utterly  incompatible  (1  Corinthians  10.  7,  14).  lie 
denies  that  sacrifices  offered  to  idols  are  sacrifices  offered 
to  Deity;  they  are  offered  to  demons  (1  Corinthians  10. 
19-21),  and  with  demons  Christians  must  have  nothing  to 
do.  Therefore,  banquets  in  pagan  temples,  which  were 
connected  with  sacrifices,  are  forbidden  to  the  Christian 
(1  Corinthians  8.  10;  10.  21).  Paul  in  his  second  com- 
munication with  the  Corinthians  on  this  vexed  question  of 
social  affairs  does  not  forbid  Christians  to  accept  invita- 
tions to  dinner  given  by  their  pagan  friends,  but  he  at 
least  hints  that  it  may  not  be  advisable  to  accept  them 
(1  Corinthians  10.  27).  Undoubtedly  the  meat  on  a  pagan 
man's  table  had  been  killed  as  a  sacrifice;  but  if  this  fact 
were  not  expressly  pointed  out,  and  the  intimation  made 
that  a  Christian  ought  to  refrain  from  such  meat  (1  Cor- 
inthians 10.  27,  28),  there  was  no  obligation  to  avoid  such 
foods.  In  the  same  way  a  Christian  might  purchase  the 
food  at  the  market  (1  Corinthians  10.  25).  However,  if 
any  Christian  believes  it  wrong  to  eat  such  flesh,  the  true 
Christian  will  eat  no  such  meat  for  his  brother's  sake  (1 
Corinthians  8.  13).  In  all  such  matters  there  is  only  one 
deciding  principle:  All  that  the  Christian  does  must  be 
done  to  the  glory  of  God  (1  Corinthians  10.  31;  8.  9). 

Peoblems  of  Church  Discipline 

Factions  in  the  Church  at  Corinth. — Examine  1  Corin- 
thians 1.  10-12;  3.  4;  2  Corinthians  12.  20,  and  consider 
the  extent  to  which  the  Corinthian  church  was  afflicted  with 
party  divisions.  Upon  what  had  Paul  sought  to  base  the 
faith  and  experience  of  the  Corinthian  church?  (1  Corin- 
thians 1.  18,  23;  2.  2;  15.  1-4).    In  rallying  around  party 

79 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

names  they  seem  to  be  glorying  in  the  preacher  and  boast- 
ing in  some  special  teaching  which  is  their  possession  alone. 
These  party  leaders  do  not  know  all:  all  their  finest  wis- 
dom seems  foolishness  in  comparison  with  the  wisdom  of 
God  (3.  18-23).  Therefore,  no  teacher  or  minister  should 
be  made  a  party  leader.  Glory  in  no  man :  rather  make  all 
their  teaching  yours  and  humbly  draw  near  to  Christ. 
Observe  another  argument  of  Paul  (1  Corinthians  4. 
1-5)  to  reduce  these  divisions.  There  is  only  one  founda- 
tion, and  the  day  comes  when  the  steward-builder  of  the 
Church  of  God  will  meet  a  searching  judgment  (3.  10-15). 
Even  Paul,  conscious  of  no  fault,  must  await  this  judgment 
of  God  (4.  4).  Finally  consider  whether  Paul  (4.  6-17) 
means  that  these  factions  believe  that  later  teachers  brought 
the  Corinthians  something  fundamental  to  the  faith  which 
they  did  not  receive  from  Paul. 

The  Position  of  Woman. — Read  again  1  Corinthians  11. 
2-16.  What  is  Paul's  fundamental  position  regarding 
woman^s  rights?  What  reason  is  given  by  Paul  for  the 
veiling  of  woman  ?  What  is  Paul's  argument  for  the  wear- 
ing of  long  hair  by  women?  Examine  1  Corinthians  14. 
34,  35.  Was  Paul  here  giving  expression  to  Jewish  or 
Gentile  views  ?  It  should  be  remembered  that  in  Paul's  day 
respectable  Greek  married  women  were  forbidden  to  visit 
the  theater  or  heathen  temples  unveiled.  The  woman  of 
loose  morals  went  everywhere  with  uncovered  face. 

Disorders  in  Connection  With  the  Eucharist. — Examine 
1  Corinthians  11.  17-34.  Note  the  custom  of  a  common 
meal  followed  by  the  Holy  Communion.  What  practice 
does  Paul  here  condemn  ?  What  is  the  reason  for  this  want 
of  f  raternalism  ?  What  remedy  does  Paul  propose  ?  What 
contribution  does  his  proposal  make  to  Christian  social 
ethics  ? 

Disorders  in  Public  Worship. — Read  attentively  1 
Corinthians  12.  1-31  and  consider  whether  or  not  the 
spiritual  exaltation  that  these  Corinthian  Christians 
experienced  tended  toward  the  advantage  or  the  dis- 
advantage of  Christian  morals.  To  what  extent  would 
the  possession  of  such  powers  as  indicated  in  12.  8-10 

80 


MORAL  PROBLEMS 

make  for  pride,  egotism,  insubordination,  the  want  of  em- 
phasis upon  immoral  acts,  and  the  neglect  of  the  normal 
expressions  of  religion  in  business,  social  fellowships,  and 
the  family,  for  abnormal  and  unusual  ecstasies  ?  To  what 
extent  does  Paul  encourge  healings,  miracles,  prophecies, 
and  speaking  in  tongues?  What  relative  value  does  he 
assign  to  those  various  exercises  of  religion?  What  direc- 
tion would  Paul  have  our  Christian  enthusiasm  take  ?  How 
far  is  this  a  genuine  and  permanent  contribution  to  the 
ethics  of  religious  emotion? 

The  Resurrection  of  the  Body. — Read  1  Corinthians 
15.  1-58.  Examine  15.  1-12,  29,  and  state  what  teach- 
ing concerning  the  resurrection  of  the  body  had  been 
a  part  of  Paul's  preaching  in  Corinth.  In  determin- 
ing this  consider  whether  the  discussion  in  this  fif- 
teenth chapter  is  new  material  or  a  restatement  of 
what  Paul  previously  had  taught  them.  Consult  7.  1 ;  15. 
1-3,  and  state  whether  a  doubt  or  denial  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  or  of  the  possibility  of  a  resurrection  from 
the  dead  had  arisen  in  the  Corinthian  church,  and,  if  so, 
what  could  have  caused  this  questioning  of  Paul's  preach- 
ing. Compare  with  this  chapter  1  Thessalonians  4.  13  f. 
What  was  Paul's  teaching  concerning  the  resurrection  of 
Christians?  of  non-Christians?  Was  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  a  new  belief  for  the  Gentiles  ?  What  was  the 
value  of  this  belief  for  the  task  of  the  ethical  reconstruction 
of  the  Gentile  world? 

The  Soukce  of  This  Ethical  Power 

It  is  evident  that  the  Christian  preaching  in  Corinth 
introduced  into  the  city  a  new  ethical  life.  Christianity 
brought  new  moral  ideals  to  the  masses  of  the  Gentile 
world  and  furnished  a  new  strength  to  live  toward  these 
ideals.  The  object  and  end  of  Christ's  death  were  to  bring 
men  into  a  new  life  with  God  (1  Corinthians  1.  30 ;  2  Corin- 
thians 5.  15),  a  life  that  rose  into  new  moral  expression. 
It  was  the  conviction  that  God  had  opened  to  man  a  fel- 
lowship; or,  rather,  that  this  Christ,  who  had  died  and 

81 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

risen  from  the  grave,  came  into  the  believer's  life  and  pos- 
sessed it  so  thoroughly  (2  Corinthians  5.  17;  Galatiaus  2. 
20)  that  a  new  life  really  was  constituted  in  the  Christian's 
soul.  Such  an  experience,  such  a  communion  with  God, 
brought  to  the  Gentile  convert  such  a  spiritual  heightening 
of  life  that  not  only  were  new  moral  values  of  conduct  cre- 
ated, but  also  new  powers  of  feeling  and  will  were  created 
which  made  the  Christian  believer  the  victor  over  the  com- 
mon and  contemptible  impulses  of  the  world. 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

A  New  Evaluation  and  Achievement  of  Life. — Paul's 
ministry  in  Corinth  was  a  distinct  and  powerful  contribu- 
tion to  the  developing  kingdom  of  God.  The  evils  of  pagan- 
ism were  unusually  accented  in  this  commercial  capital. 
Into  this  licentious,  litigious,  cosmopolitan,  self-assertive, 
slave-holding,  and  slave-held  population  a  new  evaluation 
and  achievement  of  life  dawned  in  the  ministry  of  Paul. 
Christian  preaching  in  Corinth  was  done  in  the  expectation 
of  the  near  destruction  of  the  nations  and  the  realized  glory 
of  God's  kingdom;  yet  the  gospel,  in  summoning  the  in- 
dividual to  set  his  house  in  order  for  this  judgment,  called 
him  to  such  a  thoroughgoing  reconstruction  of  his  life  that 
the  whole  social  order  of  which  he  was  a  part  was  inevitably 
affected :  so  that  it  was  wrought  out  at  Corinth  more  clearly 
than  in  any  previously  evangelized  city  that  Christianity 
must  set  itself  also  to  the  reconstruction  of  the  social 
order.  This  was  being  accomplished  in  Corinth  by  creating 
a  new  society  within  the  boundaries  of  paganism  through 
the  calling  of  individuals  out  of  the  old  life  into  the  new. 

Christianity  United  Religion  and  Ethics. — The  immedi- 
ate severance  with  paganism  was  along  two  lines:  (1)  sex 
relationships  and  (2)  idolatry.  But  the  principles  here  laid 
down  of  righteousness,  justice,  and  love  must  in  time  either 
soften  the  inequalities  of  wealth  and  slavery  or  else  be 
slighted  and  denied.  Christianity  in  Corinth,  in  the  spirit 
of  the  Hebrew  prophets  and  of  Jesus,  firmly  united  religion 
and  ethics.    It  was  this  grounding  of  morality  in  religion 

82 


MORAL  PROBLEMS 

and  this  evaluation  of  religion  in  moral  terms  which  event- 
ually undermined  the  old  social  order  of  the  empire. 

SUNEISB 

Paul,  Herald  of  Sunrise. — Dawn  is  nature's  most  fasci- 
nating miracle.  The  first  sure  hints  of  a  radiant  June  day 
are  pale-green  waves  of  dawn  flooding  the  summit  of  hills. 
Then,  steadily  within  a  half  hour,  faint  rose  tints  fill  the 
green  sea  and  turn  the  dark  islands  of  the  upper  sky  into 
torchbearers  of  day.  The  moon  slowly  dims  in  a  sky  eagerly 
turning  blue.  Birds  begin  their  accustomed  matins. 
Steadily  the  transformation  into  open  day  goes  on :  clouds 
of  rare  beauty,  ships  with  golden  sails,  float  up  the  sea  of 
growing  light.  The  horizon  turns  pink  and  brightly  red 
— then,  lo !  the  King  of  day  appears  to  rule  his  empire  of 
a  world.  The  ministry  of  Paul  was  God's  sunrise  in  the 
Greek  world. 

Religion  an  Endless  Impulse  to  Moral  Achievement. — 
Is  it  not  a  rare  dawn  to  discover  that  religion  is  an  end- 
less impulse  to  moral  achievement?  The  ethical  life  of  an 
individual  and  of  the  community  never  yet  has  reached  its 
final  triumph.  Does  your  religion  impel  you  to  new  ethical 
convictions?  Is  it  endlessly  classifying  new  wrongs  for 
you?  Fornication  and  idolatry  were  little  or  no  wrong  in 
Corinth  until  this  Christian  tentmaker  moved  into  that 
city.  What  old  views  and  practices  has  your  religion  now 
made  impossible  for  you  ?  If  you  should  give  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  full  sway  in  your  life,  what  moral  changes  would 
still  take  place  in  you  and  in  your  friends  ? 

False  Courtesy. — Where  is  the  denser  darkness  of  our 
lives?  Does  it  not  lie  across  our  social  relationships? 
The  Corinthian  Christian  was  in  the  greatest  danger  when 
he  became  a  guest.  It  is  the  social  convention  still,  making 
its  appeal  to  our  sense  of  courtesy,  which  dims  the  witness 
that  ever  should  be  uttered  by  the  Christian.  It  is  the 
social  glass  of  beer  or  wine,  the  social  game  of  cards,  the 
dance  of  the  social  set,  which  has  clouded  the  sunrise  in 
many  a  life.    We  do  not  wish  to  be  queer,  old-fashioned, 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

considered  rude  or  indifferent  to  the  efforts  of  our  host  and 
hostess  to  entertain  us.  We  commit  moral  suicide  to 
appear  polite.  There  are  no  homes  in  which  it  is  not 
lawful  for  a  true  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  to  be  a  guest; 
but  there  are  many  homes  in  which  it  is  not  expedient.  It 
is  better  to  lose  membership  in  a  club  than  to  lose  one's 
soul. 

The  Day  Dawns  When  Life  Centers  Round  the  Will  of 
God. — "Whether  therefore  ye  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatsoever 
ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God.''  Life  does  not  lower 
in  limiting  desire  to  the  direction  of  the  divine  will.  It 
blossoms.  It  unfolds.  It  bursts  into  glory.  New  ethical 
vision  has  come  when  the  Christian  says,  "All  things  are 
lawful ;  but  not  all  things  are  expedient."  It  is  the  unen- 
cumbered runner  who  reaches  the  goal. 

Are  You  Willing  to  Be  Imitated? — "Be  ye  imitators  of 
me,  even  as  I  also  am  of  Christ."  Can  you  take  this  rela- 
tion to  your  non-Christian  neighbors?  Does  your  life 
make  this  stirring  moral  appeal  to  your  community  ?  Has 
the  Christian  life  really  dawned  in  you?  You  are  or  ought 
to  be  the  light  of  the  world.  Do  your  political  views,  your 
opinions,  your  education,  your  ideas  regarding  taxes,  your 
conceptions  of  religion,  differ  from  those  of  your  fellow 
Christians  ?  Is  it  diflBcult  to  call  followers  of  other  creeds 
your  brethren?  "No  man  can  say,  Jesus  is  Lord,  but 
in  the  Holy  Spirit.''  Behind  all  sincere  Christian  differ- 
ence is  the  one  Christ.  Whoever  owns  him  Lord  is  citizen 
of  the  better  day  about  to  be. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  natural  conditions  gave  to  Corinth  its  ancient 
importance?    State  other  circumstances  that  helped. 

2.  State  the  influence  on  thinking,  of  such  a  great  slave 
population  as  Corinth  had. 

3.  In  what  way  did  the  worship  of  Aphrodite  affect  the 
daily  life  of  her  worshipers?  of  the  new  converts  to  Chris- 
tianity? 

4.  Account  for  the  different  ethical  tasks  of  Christianity 
among  Jews  and  Gentiles.    Why  this  difference? 

5.  What  weight  would  Old-Testament  proof  have  with  these 
converts? 

84 


MORAL  PROBLEMS 

6.  To  what  extent  did  Judaizers  complicate  Paul's  problem 
at  Corinth? 

7.  Explain  the  part  which  Paul's  letters  to  the  Corinthians 
play  in  his  oversight  of  them. 

8.  How  did  Paul  deal  with  questions  of  sex?  marriage?  prop- 
erty? slavery?  social  relations  with  paganism? 

9.  What  value  for  the  ethical  reconstruction  of  the  Gentile 
world  had  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body? 

10.  To  what  extent  were  new  victorious  powers  of  feeling 
and  will  created  by  faith  in  Christ? 

11.  In  what  way  did  Christianity  set  itself  to  the  task  of 
social  reconstruction  in  cities  like  Corinth? 

12.  Why  did  the  grounding  of  morality  in  religion  eventu- 
ally undermine  the   old   social   order  of  the   empire? 

References  for  Illustrative  Readings 

Paul  and  His  Epistles,  Hayes,  pages  189-268. 
The  Apostolic  Age,  McGiffert,  pages,  262-73,  290-324. 
The  Apostle  Paul,  Sabatier,  pages  156-84. 
The  Church  of  the  Apostles,  Ragg,  pages  172-79. 
Article  "Corinth"  in  A  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic  Church, 
Hastings. 


8B 


CHAPTER  VII 

ECONOMIC   PROBLEMS   OF  EARLY 
CHRISTIANITY 

In  oue  discussion  of  the  moral  problems  of  slavery 
(Chapter  VI)  the  fact  was  revealed  that  the  acceptance 
of  the  gospel  must  have  started  innumerable  questions  con- 
cerning business  methods  and  occupations.  The  slightest 
reflection  upon  the  ideals  and  practices  of  Gentile  life 
makes  clear  that  the  prevalent  immorality  and  idolatry  of 
the  first  centuries  of  our  era  not  only  would  close  to  the 
Christian  many  modes  of  livelihood  but  also  would  be  the 
basis  of  a  vast  deal  of  irritation,  antagonism,  and  persecu- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Gentiles.  The  widespread  accept- 
ance of  Christianity  undoubtedly  jeopardized  many  a  busi- 
ness enterprise.  Much  of  the  persecution  of  the  early 
Christians  was  due  wholly  to  the  economic  disturbances 
that  the  acceptance  of  the  new  religion  created.  When  any 
considerable  number  in  a  community  became  Christians, 
much  confusion  was  introduced  into  the  ranks  of  labor,  and 
markets  were  considerably  affected.  Likewise,  the  changed 
modes  of  livelihood  among  the  Christians  themselves  occa- 
sioned by  their  new  faith  worked  much  economic  hardship 
in  the  church. 

The  Christian  Conception  of  Labor 

The  Gospel  Not  a  Call  to  Idleness. — Read  attentively  1 
Thessalonians  4.  11  and  observe  that  a  part  of  Paul's 
preaching  at  Thessalonica  had  been  an  injunction  to  the 
newly  won  disciples  not  to  throw  up  their  jobs.  A  few 
months  had  elapsed  after  his  visit,  and  now  he  feels  the 
necessity  of  repeating  that  the  gospel  has  not  called  them  to 
idleness.  What  aspects  of  the  Christian  message  could  be 
construed  into  a  dislike  of  or  an  indifference  toward  labor  ? 
Consider  in  this  connection  the  early  Christian  expectation 

86 


ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS 

of  the  speedy  return  of  Christ  (4.  15-18).  Read  2  Thessa- 
lonians  3.  6-15  and  note  especially  verses  10,  11.  Our 
Biblical  sources  do  not  indicate  that  this  an ti work  spirit 
existed  elsewhere  than  at  Thessalonica.  Consider  also  the 
neglect  of  vocations  by  the  Jerusalem  community  (Acts  2. 
44-47).  Was  the  Christian  idea  of  wealth  also  a  factor  in 
the  encouragement  of  idleness  (1  Timothy  6.  5-11)  ?  The 
Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  shows  the  Christian  con- 
ception of  labor  at  a  somewhat  later  period :  "But  let  every- 
one that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  be  received.  If 
he  wishes  to  settle  with  you,  being  a  craftsman,  let  him 
work  for  and  eat  his  bread.  But  if  he  has  no  craft, 
according  to  your  wisdom  provide  how  he  shall  live  as  a 
Christian  among  you,  but  not  in  idleness.  If  he  will  not 
do  this  he  is  trafficking  upon  Christ.  Beware  of  such 
men." 

Christianity  the  First  Great  Force  to  Ameliorate  Condi- 
tions of  Slaves. — Christianity  brought  no  immediate  eco- 
nomic relief  to  the  slave.  In  Corinth  (1  Corinthians  7. 
20)  Paul  laid  down  the  explicit  injunction  that  the  gospel 
was  not  to  disturb  the  economic  relationships  of  the  com- 
munity. He  seems  never  to  have  faced  the  fact  that  Chris- 
tian brotherhood  must  mean  equal  opportunity  to  accumu- 
late and  enjoy  the  physical  comforts  of  life.  Yet  Chris- 
tianity did  do  much  for  slavery  in  those  earliest  days. 
Slavery  was  a  widespread  evil  during  the  first  centuries  of 
our  era,  and  Christians  of  means  generally  were  slave- 
holders. But  Christianity  acted  as  a  check  upon  the  power 
of  the  master.  Cruel  masters  were  the  rule,  and  not  the 
exception,  and  many  a  slave  was  brutally  tortured  for  a 
slighted  task  or  his  mistress's  whim.  While  not  all  pagan 
slave  householders  were  so  brutalized  as  those  whom  Ju- 
venal depicts,^  Christianity  was  the  first  powerful  and  wide- 
spread force  at  work  to  ameliorate  the  conditions  of  the 
slave. 

Trade  Antagonism  at  Ephesus 

Ephesus  and  Artemis. — Extensive  ruins,  the  richest  in 


1  Satire  VI. 

87 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REEORMERS 

Asia  Minor,  still  mark  the  site  of  the  city  so  great  in  Paul's 
day  and  already  twelve  centuries  old.  The  river  Cayster 
once  emptied  into  the  sea  near  the  city,  but  through  the 
centuries  it  has  poured  its  silt  into  the  Bay  of  Ephesus 
until  that  bay  is  no  more ;  the  shore  is  a  harborless,  sandy 
coast  line,  and  Ephesus  lies  five  or  six  miles  inland.  As 
early  as  B.  c.  1300  the  scattered  villages  looked  for  guidance 
to  the  goddess  Artemis  and  to  her  priests  of  a  temple  at 
Ephesus.  Greeks  coming  from  Athens  at  about  b.  c.  1100 
founded  the  first  city,  which,  though  under  many  con- 
querors, ever  was  dominated  by  the  Ephesian  goddess  Arte- 
mis (or  Diana)  until  long  past  New-Testament  times. 

Great  Is  Diana. — Observe  the  language  of  Acts  19.  27. 
"Diana,  .  .  .  whom  all  Asia  and  the  world  worshipeth," 
was  no  empty  boast.  Ancient  writers  speak  of  her  wide- 
spread worship.  Various  cities  in  Spain  and  Gaul  possessed 
temples  of  the  Ephesian  model.  The  founders  of  Mar- 
seilles brought  with  them  from  Ephesus  a  shrine  and 
priestess  of  the  goddess  and  built  a  temple  to  Diana  and 
copied  the  Ephesian  forms  of  worship.^  Strabo^  writes  of 
Elis  in  Greece,  "The  whole  country  is  full  of  temples  dedi- 
cated to  Diana.''  A  shrine  of  Diana  copied  after  the  tem- 
ple at  Ephesus  stood  in  Paul's  day  on  the"  Aventine  hill 
in  Rome.  Borsippa,  in  the  Tigris-Euphrates  valley,  was  a 
city  sacred  to  this  goddess.  Strabo  records  also  that  when 
Xenophon  returned  from  his  wars  in  Asia  and  settled  on 
his  estate  among  the  wooded  hills  which  ridge  the  rich 
valley  of  the  Alpheus,  he  erected  on  his  place  a  little  temple 
to  Diana  after  the  mother  temple  in  Ephesus. 

The  Beginnings  of  Christianity  at  Ephesus. — Read  Acts 
18.  18-28  and  state  the  beginnings  of  Christianity  at  Ephe- 
sus. According  to  Romans  16.  5  this  first  preaching  of 
Paul  was  not  without  results.  Acts  18.  22  implies  that 
Paul  paid  a  brief  visit  to  Jerusalem  and  then,  returning  to 
Antioch,  spent  some  time  there.  Read  Acts  19.  1  to  20.  1. 
Two  points  are  especially  interesting:  Paul  "reasons  daily 
in  the  school  of  Tyrannus."    The  "school  of  Tyrannus"  was 

2  Strabo,  Book  IV,  Chapter  I,  Section  4. 
» Book  VIII,  Chapter  III,  Section  12. 

88 


ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS 

a  lecture  hall  probably  connected  with  one  of  the  city's 
gymnasiums.  The  Bezan  text  states  that  PauFs  daily  lec- 
tures, or  sermons,  were  from  the  fifth  to  the  tenth  hour. 
Such  halls  were  in  common  use  in  Greek  cities  by  gram- 
marians, poets,  and  philosophers  to  bring  their  writings 
and  views  before  the  public.  Paul  apparently  introduces 
the  gospel  as  philosophical  lectures.  This  use  of  a  mission 
hall  is  the  oldest  example  of  what  has  become  a  common 
mode  of  Christian  missionary  activity.  Congregations  for 
worship,  however,  still  met  in  private  houses  (1  Corin- 
thians 16.  19).  Of  equal  interest  in  this  mission  propa- 
ganda is  its  widespread  success.  Examine  1  Corinthians 
16.  9,  19;  Acts  19.  10,  and  observe  the  extent  of  the 
Christian  mission. 

The  Importance  of  the  Trade  Guilds. — The  Greek  and 
Roman  society  of  the  first  Christian  centuries  abounded 
with  trade  guilds.  Workingmen  everywhere  were  banded 
together  for  the  protection  of  manufacture  and  trade  and 
for  social  fellowship,  ^lore  than  eighty  different  trades  in 
the  city  of  Rome  were  organized  into  guilds.  Dealers  in 
oil,  wine,  fish,  and  grain,  and  workers  in  wood,  cloth,  iron, 
and  the  precious  metals  were  found  everywhere.  Promi- 
nent at  Ephesus  was  the  guild  of  the  silversmiths.  Wor- 
shipers of  Diana  presented  her  with  innumerable  dedica- 
tory gifts.  These  usually  were  shrines,  a  niche  containing 
an  image  of  the  goddess.  These  shrines  were  miniature 
copies  of  the  Ephesian  temple  and  were  left  as  offerings 
in  the  great  temple,  kept  in  the  homes  of  the  people,  and 
buried  with  their  dead.  Read  Acts  19.  23-41.  What  two 
reasons  did  Demetrius  offer  for  opposing  Christianity? 
According  to  him  what  was  Paul's  preaching  concerning  the 
Deity  ?  What  peculiarly  accentuated  the  economic  situation 
in  Ephesus?  In  what  way  did  the  attack  by  the  silver- 
smiths and  allied  artisans  end? 

Economic  Disturbances  in  Bithynia 

The  Attitude  Toward  Christians  in  Bithynia. — Bithynia 
was  a  Roman  province  of  Asia  Minor  stretching  along  the 
southern  shore  of  the  Black  Sea.     Paul  had  wished  to 

89 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

preach  the  gospel  in  this  province  (Acts  16.  7),  but  ^'the 
Spirit  of  Jesus  suffered  [him]  not."  Messengers  unknown 
to  us  carried  the  good  news  thither.  At  first  the  Chris- 
tians of  this  province  were  Hellenized  Jews  (1  Peter  1.  1), 
but  later  Gentiles  in  large  numbers  accepted  Christianity. 
About  A.  D.  112  Pliny,  the  governor  of  the  province,  wrote 
to  the  emperor  Trajan  to  inquire  concerning  the  proper 
judicial  methods  to  pursue  with  those  accused  of  being 
Christians.    A  part  of  his  letter  reads: 

It  appears  to  be  a  matter  highly  deserving  your  considera- 
tion, more  especially  as  great  numbers  must  be  involved  in 
the  danger  of  these  persecutions,  which  already  have  extended 
and  are  still  likely  to  extend  to  persons  of  all  ranks  and  ages 
and  even  both  sexes.  In  fact,  this  contagious  superstition  is 
not  confined  to  the  cities  only  but  has  spread  its  infection 
among  the  neighboring  villages  and  country.  Nevertheless, 
it  still  seems  possible  to  restrain  its  progress.  The  temples, 
at  least,  which  were  once  almost  deserted,  begin  now  to  be 
frequented;  and  the  sacred  rites,  after  a  long  intermission, 
are  again  revived,  while  there  is  a  very  general  demand  for 
the  victims  which  till  lately  found  very  few  purchasers. 

The  Basis  of  Complaint  Against  the  Christians. — It  is 

easy  to  see  here  the  basis  of  the  complaint  against  the 
Christians  and  the  motive  for  their  persecutions.  Con- 
sider the  antipathy  sure  to  be  aroused  by  any  new  mode 
of  life  which  would  cause  temples  to  be  deserted,  priests 
to  be  deprived  of  revenues,  stock  raisers  to  be  without 
a  market,  and  farmers  to  have  unsalable  supplies  of  hay 
and  grain.  With  such  industries  seriously  affected  wide- 
spread business  depression  certainly  would  follow.  The 
pagan  pocketbook  had  been  touched  by  Christ.  While 
Pliny  reports  that  a  vigorous  policy  of  persecution  had 
somewhat  improved  business  conditions,  he  is  well  aware 
that  the  "contagious  superstition"  is  spreading  to  all  ranks 
and  ages.  Place  yourself  in  the  position  of  these  aggrieved 
farmers,  traders,  and  priests,  and  consider  how  bitterly 
they  must  have  denounced  these  Christians,  whose  new, 
silly  notions  were  ruining  the  country.  Think  too  of  the 
hardships  endured  by  the  persecuted  followers  of  Jesus. 
They  too  were  farmers  and  stock  raisers  and  traders:  but 

90 


ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS 

for  them  loss  of  income  was  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
gain  of  knowing  life  in  Jesus  Christ.  Consider  the  rich- 
ness and  power  of  this  new  life  which  dared,  sacrificed,  and 
suffered  to  retain  the  glory  that  had  shone  into  their  com- 
mon day. 

Trades  and  Professions  Repugnant  to  Christianity 

Idolatry. — It  is  well-nigh  impossible  for  moderns  to 
realize  the  manifold  ramifications  of  idolatry  in  the  early 
Christian  centuries.  Scarcely  a  trade  or  profession  was 
there  which  in  some  way  was  not  connected  with  pagan 
religion.  Christianity,  through  its  best  teachers,  strove 
to  break  with  all  forms  of  earning  a  livelihood  and  all  social 
customs  which  kept  their  pagan  religious  implications. 
Whenever  these  stricter  injunctions  were  followed,  serious 
economic  disturbances  arose.  Tertullian,  who  lived  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  second  century,  preserves  several  very 
interesting  features  of  these  economic  problems  faced  by  the 
triumphing  spirit  of  Christianity. 

Christians  Accused  of  Causing  Business  Depression. — 
"We  are  accused  of  being  useless  in  the  affairs  of  life,'' 
writes  Tertullian.  "How  in  all  the  world  can  that  be  the 
case  with  people  who  are  living  among  you,  eating  the 
same  food,  wearing  the  same  attire,  having  the  same  habits, 
under  the  same  necessities  of  existence?  .  .  .  How  it  is 
we  seem  useless  in  your  ordinary  business,  living  with  you 
and  by  you  as  we  do,  I  am  not  able  to  understand.  .  .  . 
I  do  not  recline  in  public  at  the  feet  of  Bacchus  yet  of  your 
resources  I  partake  wherever  I  may  chance  to  eat.  I  do  not 
buy  a  crown  for  my  head.  What  matters  it  to  you  how  I  use 
them  if  the  flowers  are  purchased  ?  I  think  it  more  agree- 
able to  have  them  free  and  loose,  waving  all  about.  .  .  . 
We  do  not  go  to  your  spectacles;  yet  the  articles  sold 
there,  if  I  need  them,  I  will  obtain  more  readily  at  their 
proper  places.  We  certainly  buy  no  frankincense.  If  the 
Arabians  complain  of  this,  let  the  Sabeans  be  well  assured 
that  their  more  precious  and  costly  merchandise  is  ex- 
pended as  largely  in  the  burying  of  Christians  as  in  the 
fumigating  of  the  gods.    You  say  the  temple  revenues  are 

91 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

every  day  falling  off.  In  truth,  we  are  not  able  to  give 
alms  both  to  your  human  and  heavenly  mendicants;  nor 
do  we  think  that  we  are  required  to  give  any  but  to  those 
who  ask  for  it.  Let  Jupiter,  then,  hold  out  his  hand  and 
get,  for  our  compassion  spends  more  in  the  streets  than 
yours  does  in  the  temples."^  To  what  extent  does  this 
reply  of  Tertullian  indicate  a  loss  of  revenue  on  the  part 
of  pagan  business  interests?  Christians  were  charged 
with  immorality,  atheism,  and  want  of  patriotism,  and  fre- 
quently were  put  to  death  as  guilty  of  such  crimes  against 
the  state.  In  the  light  of  the  foregoing  language  of  Ter- 
tullian how  much  of  this  persecution  really  rooted  in  the 
disturbed  business  of  pagan  merchants  and  tradesmen  ? 

Occupations  Closed  to  Christians :  Idol  Makers  and  Tem- 
ple Workers. — Tertullian  is  particularly  severe  against  the 
artificer  of  idols.  In  his  discussion  of  ''Idolatry^^  it  ap- 
pears that  pagans  who  had  become  Christians,  who  had 
given  up  the  worship  of  idols,  still  continued  at  their  old 
trade  of  making  idols.  At  the  remonstrance  of  their 
brethren  they  say,  "We  have  nothing  else  to  live  by.''  Ter- 
tullian retorts  that  such  have  no  place  in  the  kingdom  of 
God.  These  idol  makers  quote  the  Pauline  injunction  (1 
Corinthians  7.  20)  :  "Let  each  man  abide  in  that  calling 
wherein  he  was  called."  Tertullian  answers,  "We  may  all 
continue  in  our  sins  according  to  that  interpretation  of 
the  apostle."  It  was  a  bitter  struggle  to  divorce  Chris- 
tians from  occupations  connected  with  pagan  religion. 
Tertullian  condemns  every  form  of  work  in  connection  with 
temples.  Christians  urge  that  such  employments  pay  bet- 
ter wages ;  Tertullian  retorts  that  the  less  gainful  employ- 
ments at  least  are  more  steady.  The  plasterer,  painter, 
carpenter,  and  mason  need  not  work  on  temples:  houses 
offer  a  larger  opportunity  for  labor.  "Shoe-  and  slipper- 
gilding  is  daily  work;  not  so  the  gilding  of  Mercury  and 
Serapis." 

Other  Employments  Condemned. — Astrologers  and  ma- 
gicians can  have  no  part  in  the  kingdom  of  the  heavens. 


*  Apologeticus,  Chapter  XLII. 

92 


ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS 

School-teachers  also  can  have  no  place  in  the  church.  It 
was  necessary  for  them  to  teach  the  names,  honors,  and 
genealogies  of  the  pagan  deities,  and  to  observe  their  fes- 
tivals. The  first  fees  of  every  new  pnpil  custom  compelled 
him  to  consecrate  to  Minerva.  The  commandment  not  to 
kill  excludes  from  the  church  the  gladiator  and  the  trainer 
of  gladiators.  Frankincense  sellers,  purveyors  of  public  vic- 
tims for  gladiatorial  combats,  and  actors  cannot  be  dis- 
ciples of  the  Christ.  Christians  may  not  hold  public  offices 
that  compel  their  occupants  to  sacrifice.  The  oversight 
of  temples,  the  conduct  of  spectacles  either  at  private  ex- 
pense or  the  public  charge,  the  proclamation  of  an  edict 
for  any  pagan  festival,  the  taking  of  oaths,  and  the  sitting 
in  judgment  in  a  criminal  case  are  prohibited. 

Military  Service. — This  vocation  was  doubly  obnoxious 
to  the  stricter  Christians.  It  was  connected  with  idolatry 
and  was  a  violation  of  the  commandment  not  to  kill.  For 
Tertullian  the  Eoman  eagle  was  the  standard  of  the  devil, 
and  the  military  camp  was  the  camp  of  darkness.  The 
Christian  has  no  right  to  the  sword.  "The  Lord  in  dis- 
arming Peter  unbelted  every  soldier."  Tertullian  lays 
down  the  rule  that  no  Christian  may  enlist.  If  a  soldier 
becomes  a  Christian,  there  must  be  an  immediate  abandon- 
ment of  the  military  service. 

The  Relief  of  Economic  Distress  Within  the 
Church 

The  Common  Fund. — Two  distinct  ways  of  relieving  dis- 
tress, which  are  at  least  relatively  new,  are  found  among  the 
Christians  of  the  first  and  second  centuries.  We  already 
have  noted  the  existence  of  a  common  fund  among  the 
Jerusalem  Christians.  This  practice  was  continued,  at 
least  as  a  common  fund,  to  relieve  the  needs  of  those  who 
had  no  other  means  of  livelihood.  Ignatius,  bishop  of 
Antioch,  writing  at  about  a.  d.  100,  to  Polycarp,  enjoins: 
'^Let  not  the  widows  be  overlooked :  on  account  of  our  Lord, 
be  their  guardian.  Despise  not  slaves;  but  neither  let 
them  desire  to  be  set  free  out  of  the  common  fund."  Jus- 
tin Martyr,  at  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  in 

93 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

his  Apology  addressed  to  the  Emperor  Hadrian,  relates, 
"We  who  valued  above  all  things  the  acquisition  of  wealth 
and  possessions,  now  bring  what  we  have  into  a  common 
stock  and  communicate  to  everyone  in  need." 

The  Common  Fund  a  Charity  Created  by  Special  Gifts. 
— Justin  here  seems  to  indicate  a  community  of  goods.  It 
is  quite  possible  that  the  Jerusalem  practice  was  repeated 
in  isolated  communities.  But  the  prevailing  idea  of  the 
common  fund  was  a  charity  fund  created  by  special  gifts. 
Tertullian,  in  his  Apology  (Chapter  XXXIX),  makes  this 
clear : 

We  have  our  treasure  chest,  into  which  each,  if  he  likes, 
on  the  monthly  collection  day,  puts  in  a  small  donation;  but 
only  if  it  be  his  pleasure,  and  only  if  he  be  able.  There  is  no 
compulsion:  all  is  voluntary.  These  gifts  are  piety's  deposit 
fund.  For  they  are  not  taken  thence  and  spent  on  feasts, 
drinking  bouts,  and  eating  houses,  but  to  support  and  bury 
poor  people,  to  supply  the  wants  of  boys  and  girls  destitute 
of  means  and  parents,  and  of  old  persons  confined  now  to  the 
house:  such  too  as  have  suffered  shipwreck.  If  there  happen 
to  be  any  in  the  mines,  or  banished  to  the  islands,  or  shut  up 
in  the  prisons  for  nothing  but  for  their  fidelity  to  the  cause 
of  God's  church,  they  become  the  nurslings  of  their  confession. 

The  Emphasis  Upon  Simplicity  of  Life. — "Seek  ye  first 
the  kingdom  of  God"  was  the  outstanding  injunction  of 
early  social  Christianity.  "What  shall  it  profit  a  man  to 
gain  the  world  ?"  was  the  pious  query  to  soften  the  Chris- 
tianas experience  of  economic  distress.  Cyprian  typically 
expresses  the  feeling  of  the  early  Christian  leaders.  He 
tells  his  fellow  Christians  that  those  whom  they  consider 
rich  are  torn  by  anxiety.  They  are  afraid  of  being  robbed 
and  murdered.  They  are  the  envy  of  wealthier  neighbors 
who  subject  them  to  suits  at  law.  "In  the  midst  of  the 
banquet  he  sighs,  although  he  drinks  from  a  jeweled  goblet ; 
when  his  luxurious  bed  has  enfolded  his  body,  he  lies 
wakeful  in  the  midst  of  the  down.  Nor  does  he  perceive, 
poor  wretch,  that  these  things  are  merely  gilded  torments, 
that  he  is  held  in  bondage  by  his  gold,  and  that  he  is  the 
slave  of  his  luxury  and  wealth  rather  than  their  master."^ 

*  Epistle  to  Donatua. 

94 


ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS 

Summary  :  The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  Material  Subordinate  to  the  Spiritual. — PauFs  ex- 
perience with  the  trade  guilds  at  Ephesus  is  the  beginning 
of  the  long  task  of  Christianity  to  bring  the  business  activ- 
ities of  mankind  into  harmony  with  the  Spirit  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Christianity,  while  recognizing  the  necessity  of 
the  material  goods  of  life,  emphasizes  the  life  of  the  soul. 
The  progress  of  Christianity,  therefore,  in  one  of  its  vital 
aspects  is  a  process  of  reducing  the  production  of  material 
goods  and  commerce  therein  to  a  subordinate  place  in  the 
thought  and  love  of  man.  It  is  a  tremendous  task.  It 
was  the  more  difficult  in  the  ancient  world  through  the 
intimate  connection  of  business  with  pagan  religion.  Yet 
Christian  leaders  did  not  shrink  from  this  conflict.  They 
faced  bravely  the  economic  disturbances  their  gospel  in- 
volved. No  more  difficult  obstacle,  no  more  bitter  antago- 
nism, has  confronted  Christianity  than  the  group  that  says, 
"By  this  business  we  have  our  wealth." 

Willingness  to  Bear  Economic  Stress  an  Evidence  of 
Christian  Experience. — Modern  Christian  missions  present 
many  striking  parallels  to  these  ancient  conflicts.  Perse- 
cutions, disinheritance,  ruined  trade,  lost  business  positions, 
and  shrunken  incomes  are  a  commonplace  of  the  modern 
triumph  of  Christianity  in  mission  lands.  Others  than 
Paul  have  contended  with  wild  beasts  whose  business  was 
jeopardized  by  the  gospel.  There  is  no  more  telling  wit- 
ness to  the  deep  satisfaction  of  a  genuine  Christian  experi- 
ence than  this  willingness  to  bear  economic  distress,  that 
the  soul  may  be  rich  and  satisfied  in  fellowship  with  God. 

Our  Daily  Bread 

Who  Is  at  Fault? — Daily  food  is  the  necessity  of  every 
man.  To  procure  it  is  a  problem  of  millions  of  human 
beings ;  the  want  of  it  is  the  fear  of  vast  multitudes.  Hun- 
ger is  the  ghost  that  walks  in  the  troubled  dreams  of 
countless  throngs  in  the  midst  of  bountiful  earth  and  seas 
and  skies.  Is  there  not  enough  food  produced  for  all? 
Has  God  gotten  himself  a  greater  family  than  he  can  care 

95 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

for?  What  is  the  cause  of  the  economic  distress  that 
destroys  the  happiness  of  individuals  and  the  peace  of 
nations  ? 

Are  We  Doing  God's  Way? — Surely  God  must  have 
planned  a  way  to  supply  the  needs  of  all  his  children. 
"Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread"  was  not  intended  for 
the  rich  and  the  strong  alone.  Nature  has  milk  enough 
for  all  her  children,  and  when  any  son  of  earth  is  unfed, 
the  will  of  God,  by  some  person  or  persons,  has  not  been 
done.  What  is  the  will  of  God  concerning  the  material 
goods  of  life  ? 

Beware  of  Loafers ! — Does  not  God  purpose  that  everyone 
shall  labor?  Idleness  is  more  than  the  concern  of  a  va- 
grancy officer.  It  is  more  than  a  subject  for  the  sociolo- 
gist: it  is  a  sin  against  God.  Whoever  is  responsible  for 
idleness — the  individual  who  refuses  to  work  or  the  com- 
munity that  periodically  throws  men  out  of  employment — 
sins  against  the  moral  order  of  the  universe.  Work  is  the 
sacred  duty  of  all.  Wealth  in  the  sight  of  God  excuses  no 
man  from  toil.  Laziness  in  prince  and  pauper  alike 
stinks  to  heaven.  The  real  Christian  chooses  an  honorable 
vocation  and  regards  it  as  a  trust  and  a  character-building 
opportunity. 

The  Simple  Life. — If  God  has  his  way  with  us,  we  shall 
learn  to  satisfy  our  lives  with  simple  physical  needs.  It 
is  the  strife  for  luxuries  which  fills  the  world  with  dis- 
tress. Centuries  have  come  and  gone,  and  man  still  pursues 
his  restless  way  to  heap  up  outward  goods.  The  past  has 
not  taught  him  its  painful  lesson.  The  race  is  still  a  child 
crying  in  the  night,  hungry  but  ignorant  of  where  its  need 
may  be  supplied.  To  become  divine  man  must  not  only 
labor :  he  must  organize  his  life  also  by  quiet  habits  around 
simple  needs.  The  simpler  satisfactions  are  the  ones  that 
endure.  Sober,  honorable  industry  and  rationally  con- 
trolled desires  are  guaranties  of  unpassing  peace  and  joy. 

Where  Are  We  Heading? — It  is  God^s  will,  too,  that 
we  shall  understand  the  meaning  and  goal  of  our  being. 
We  think  that  it  is  our  first  duty  to  live.  We  therefore 
take  up  with  employments  which  render  spiritual  culture 


ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS 

impossible.  We  adopt  questionable  business  methods.  We 
grow  unscrupulous  and  liard,  become  absorbed  in  com- 
mercial affairs,  and  see  nothing  but  the  golden  prize 
for  which  we  toil.  For  daily  bread  we  sell  our  souls.  We 
human  beings  curse  and  covet,  lie  and  steal,  blaspheme  and 
murder,  for  bread.  We  barter  soul  for  body.  Is  it  our 
first  duty  to  live  ?  Is  man's  nearest  obligation  to  have  food 
or  to  have  fellowship  with  God  ?  Let  men  say,  "We  must 
be  good  whether  we  live  or  die;  we  must  never  part  with 
purity  and  honor  whether  we  win  wealth  or  starve.  It  is 
better  to  die  than  to  live  in  dishonor.  An  unmarked  grave 
is  a  better  inheritance  than  a  palace  wrung  from  the  weak- 
nesses and  sins  of  our  fellow  men." 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  Why  did  the  early  converts  to  Christianity  want  to  throw 
up  their  jobs? 

2.  What   did   Paul   teach   with   reference   to   the  economic 
relationships  of  the  community? 

3.  How  did  Paul  exemplify  the  working  Christian? 

4.  Tell  what  you  know  about  the  pagan  trade  guilds. 

5.  Why  did  Paul's  preaching  at  Ephesus  "start  something"? 

6.  Show  how  in  this  respect  new  victories  brought  Chris- 
tianity new  problems. 

7.  What  was  Paul's  method  in  presenting  his  message  in 
Corinth? 

8.  What  occupations  were  closed  to  those  joining  the  Chris- 
tian Church?    Why? 

9.  In  what  way  did  the  endurance  of  economic  hardship 
indicate  genuine  Kingdom  loyalty? 

10.  Explain  the  methods  used  by  the  church  to  relieve  eco- 
nomic distress. 

11.  How  did  Christianity  seek  to  bring  the  production  of 
material  goods  and  commerce  in  them  to  a  subordinate  place? 

12.  Are  we  meeting  squarely  every  challenge  that  comes  to 
us  to  make  economic  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  Christ? 

Eeading  References 

The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  Ramsay,  Chapters  VIII 
and  X. 

The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity,  Harnack,  Vol- 
ume I,  pages  290-311. 

Persecution  in  the  Early  Church,  Workman,  pages  148-56, 
171-90. 

Pliny's  Letters,  Bosanquet,  Book  X,  Letter  XCVII. 

37 


CHAPTER  VIII 

CHRISTIANITY  IN  ROME 

This  chapter  presents  the  story,  so  far  as  this  is  now 
known,  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Rome  during  the  first 
century  of  our  era.  This  is  the  most  important  community 
whose  Christian  beginnings  we  have  yet  studied.  The  de- 
velopment of  the  church,  subsequent  to  the  apostolic  age, 
through  which  the  church  in  Rome  came  to  its  headship  of 
Western  Christianity,  makes  the  study  of  the  beginnings  of 
Christianity  in  the  imperial  city  unusually  important  and 
interesting. 

The  Origin  of  Christianity  in  Rome 

The  Exact  Origin  of  the  Church  at  Rome  Unknown. 

— The  exact  facts  of  the  origin  of  the  Roman  church  are 
unknown.  The  New  Testament  offers  no  positive  testi- 
mony. The  surmises  are  worthy  of  examination:  (1)  "So- 
journers from  Rome"  (Acts  2.  10)  shared  the  experiences 
of  Pentecost  and,  on  returning  home,  must  have  spoken  of 
these  events  in  their  synagogues  and  formed  the  nucleus — or 
at  least  the  soil  for  later  missionaries — of  a  Christian  com- 
munity. Suetonius,  a  Latin  historian,  who  wrote  not  later 
than  twenty-five  years  after  the  close  of  the  apostolic  age, 
states  that  the  emperor  Claudius  (a.  d.  41-54)  "banished 
from  Rome  all  the  Jews  who  were  continually  making  dis- 
turbances at  the  instigation  of  Chrestus"  (see  also  Acts 
18.  2).  If  Christianity  was  introduced  into  Rome  by  Jews, 
disturbances  at  the  synagogues  soon  or  late  were  sure  to 
occur.  (2)  The  other  conjecture  is  that  the  Roman  church 
was  founded  by  Christians  from  Antioch,  Ephesus,  or 
Corinth.  These  ports  were  in  constant  communication 
with  Rome,  and  among  the  incessant  travelers  between  the 
East  and  the  imperial  city  Christians  at  an  early  date  were 
sure  to  carry  their  faith  into  Rome.     PauPs  letter  to  the 

98 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  ROME 

church  at  Rome,  written  after  both  his  Corinthian  and 
Ephesian  pastorates,  indicates  a  large  number  of  Chris- 
tians in  Rome  with  whom  he  was  familiar  (Romans  16.  3- 
16).  One  thing  is  clear:  neither  the  New  Testament  nor 
any  of  the  literature  of  the  church  Fathers  of  the  first  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  states  that  any  of  the  apostles  was 
the  founder  of  the  church  in  Rome. 

Paul  and  the  Church  at  Rome 

Paul's  Letter  to  the  Church  in  Rome. — The  starting 
point  of  our  exact  information  concerning  Christianity  in 
Rome  is  Paul's  letter  to  the  Romans.  This  letter  was  writ- 
ten from  Corinth  quite  probably  in  the  early  spring  of 
A.  D.  58.  After  examining  Romans  1.  8;  15.  14,  and  con- 
sidering the  high  quality  of  this  letter,  form  an  opinion 
concerning  the  numbers,  the  intellectuality,  and  the  piety 
of  the  Roman  church.  What  can  be  said  of  PauFs  feeling 
toward  the  Christians  of  Rome  (1.  13-15;  15.  23)  ?  Con- 
sider to  what  extent  the  Judaizing  opponents  of  Paul  and 
the  great  opportunities  at  Corinth  and  Ephesus  had 
thwarted  his  plans  to  visit  Rome.  Read  15.  23-29  and 
state  what  Paul's  plans  were  at  the  time  this  letter  was 
dispatched  to  Rome. 

Christianity's  Progress  in  Rome  up  to  A.  D.  58. — This 
letter  throws  considerable  light  upon  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity in  Rome  up  until  the  year  a.  d.  58.  Examine  1.  5, 
6  (see  marginal  reading  for  "nations"),  13-15;  11.  13; 
and  state  whether  this  church  was  composed  of  Jewish  or 
Gentile  Christians.  Observe  in  the  working  out  of  this 
problem  (15.  15,  16)  that  Paul  offers  as  the  motive  for 
the  bold  treatment  of  Roman  Christianity  undertaken  by 
this  letter,  that  he  is  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  Such  sec- 
tions as  2.  17-24;  7.  1-6  appear  to  be  addressed  to  Jews; 
and  although  Jewish  proselytes  converted  to  Christianity 
would  fit  these  references,  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  there  were  not  Jewish  as  well  as  Gentile  Christians  in 
the  Roman  church. 

Paul's  Reply  to  the  Judaizers. — In  addition  to  PauFs  de- 
sire to  minister  to  the  Gentiles  (15.  16)  he  seems  also  to 

99 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

be  answering  a  Judaizing  attack  upon  the  Roman  church. 
It  would  seem  that  they  twisted  PauFs  teaching  that  right- 
eousness, being  a  divine  gift,  is  not  obtainable  through 
legal  works  into  the  slander  (3.  8)  that  conduct  mattered 
little :  "let  us  do  evil,  that  good  may  come."  Paul  indig- 
nantly rejects  the  accusation  that  liberty  from  Jewish 
legalism  leads  to  unrestrained  conduct  (6.  1  f.,  15  f.).  He 
was  made  to  say  also  (3.  31;  7.  7)  that  the  law,  being  inef- 
fectual to  secure  righteousness,  really  instigated  to  sin. 
Running  through  chapters  9  to  11  seems  to  be  the  answer 
of  Paul  to  the  accusation  that  he  had  forsaken  his  own 
people  and  nation :  that  as  an  apostate  from  his  own  reli- 
gion he  was  scarcely  worthy  to  preach  righteousness  to 
others. 

The  Division  Over  Food  and  Sacred  Days. — The  Roman 
church  at  this  time  also  had  its  divisions  of  strong  and 
weak.  Examine  attentively  14.  1  to  15.  7.  Observe  that 
there  were  two  matters  in  question:  the  question  of  food 
and  the  question  of  sacred  days.  What  was  the  position  of 
the  two  parties  on  these  questions  ?  Which  was  the  stronger 
element?  With  which  party  did  Paul's  chief  sympathies 
lie?  What  practical  suggestions  does  he  make?  The 
"weak'^  probably  were  Jewish  proselytes  become  Christians, 
and  the  "strong''  were  converts  directly  from  paganism. 

Christianity's  Triumphs  at  Rome. — Thus  the  church  at 
Rome  had  its  problems.  But  it  had  its  triumphs,  too. 
What  can  be  said  for  the  faith  and  character  of  Roman 
Christianity  at  this  time  (1.  8;  15.  14)?  Consider  too, 
in  estimating  the  Roman  church  at  the  period  of  this 
letter,  that,  although  no  apostle  had  directed  its  develop- 
ment, Paul  considered  this  Gentile  church  worthy  of  his 
best.  For  Romans  is  Paul's  best.  He  discusses  in  the 
freest  manner  the  deepest  problems  which  the  gospel  awak- 
ened in  the  minds  of  men. 

Paul's  Services  of  the  Church  at  Rome. — Read  1.  10  and 
state  Paul's  purpose  in  going  to  Rome.  Paul,  of  course, 
did  not  expect  to  go  as  a  prisoner.  Examine  Acts  28.  16, 
20,  23,  30;  Ephesians  6.  20;  Colossians  4.  18;  Philemon, 
verses  9,  10;  Philippians  1.  13;  2.  25-30;  4.  10,  11,  18; 

100 


CHEISTIANITY  IN"  EOME 

2  Timothy  4.  9-11,  and  consider  the  circumstances  under 
which  Paul  lived  in  Rome  in  the  light  of  an  opportunity  to 
fulfill  his  earlier  expressed  purpose.  Like  other  Roman 
prisoners  whose  offense  did  not  warrant  a  dungeon,  Paul 
was  bound  by  a  chain  to  a  soldier  day  and  night.  From 
the  above  references  it  appears  that  the  Christians  in  Rome, 
at  least  during  the  early  months  of  PauFs  imprisonment 
(Philippians  was  written  some  time  after  Paul's  arrival  at 
Rome  yet  early  enough  in  his  imprisonment  to  warrant 
the  hope  of  release),  did  not  minister  attentively  to  PauPs 
needs.  Paul  was  sometimes  in  want;  he  had  been  relieved 
by  gifts  from  Philippi;  Epaphroditus  had  worked  himself 
into  a  sickness  to  care  for  Paul.  The  Roman  authorities 
provided  only  the  coarsest  food,  garments,  and  lodging  for 
their  prisoners.  Any  comforts  had  to  be  provided  by  the 
friends  of  the  prisoner.  What  does  this  situation  argue  as 
to  the  debt  which  the  Roman  church  felt  it  owed  to  Paul  ? 

The  Prisoner-Evangelist. — Examine  Philippians  1.  12- 
18.  Note  especially  two  advantages  of  the  apostle's  con- 
finement. There  is  a  beautiful  insight  into  Paul's  life  in 
1.  13.  The  soldiers  of  the  Praetorian  guard,  the  imperial 
troops  quartered  at  Rome,  were  assigned  by  turn  to  be 
chained  to  the  prisoners.  One  by  one  Paul  was  given  an 
auditor  who  could  not  get  away  from  him  for  five  hours. 
With  courteous  tact  Paul  kept  telling  the  story  of  his  life 
and  his  Christ  to  these  soldiers  till  at  last  he  could  write 
that  he  had  preached  Christ  "throughout  the  whole  Prae- 
torian guard."  Such  zeal  was  contagious.  State  the  second 
good  result  of  Paul's  bonds  (1.  14).  This  renewed  mission- 
preaching  awakened  new  activity  among  the  Judaizers — 
Jewish  Christians  whom  we  have  met  at  Jerusalem,  in 
Galatia,  and  at  Corinth. 

Un-Pauline  Christianity  at  Rome. — Consider  again  the 
neglect  of  Paul  by  the  Roman  Christians  in  connection  with 
the  fact  appearing  in  Philippians  1.  18 — that  Paul  was  un- 
able to  check  the  hypocritical  preaching  of  Christ.  Consider 
also  the  fact  that  Paul  felt  that  in  the  deeper  truths  of 
Christianity  there  was  little  in  common  between  himself  and 
the  Roman  Christians   (2.  20,  21).     Does  all  this  loneli- 

101 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

ness  and  alienation,  this  entering  of  the  gospel,  in  his  very- 
presence,  into  paths  remote  from  his  own  spirit,  foretoken 
the  development  of  an  un-Pauline  Christianity  in  Rome  ? 

Paul's  Life  at  Rome. — His  earlier  churches  vi^ere  not  for- 
gotten. His  letters,  Ephesians,  Colossians,  and  Philemon, 
were  dispatched  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Rome.  He 
prays  for  his  distant  churches  (Ephesians  3.  14) ;  he  re- 
joices that  they  are  stars  shining  in  a  dark  world  (Philip- 
pians  2.  15) ;  he  is  pained  at  their  sorrows  (2.  28)  ;  he  is 
concerned  for  Christians  whom  he  never  has  seen  (Colos- 
sians 2.  1) ;  he  is  thoughtful  to  send  many  personal  greet- 
ings (4.  10-17;  Philemon  23,  24).  At  different  times  Paul 
had  about  him  a  number  of  friends.  Timothy,  his  most 
trusted  helper,  was  with  Paul  at  the  time  these  earlier  letters 
were  written  (Colossians  1.  1;  Philemon  1;  Philippians  1. 
1).  He  was  sent  on  a  mission  to  Philippi  (2.  23)  but  he  was 
recalled  to  Rome  shortly  before  the  apostle's  martyrdom 
(2  Timothy  4.  6-9).  Whether  he  reached  Rome  before 
Paul's  death  is  not  known.  Epaphroditus  (Philippians 
2.  25-30;  4.  14-18)  also  was  greatly  prized  by  Paul.  He 
carried  with  him  back  home  Paul's  letter  to  the  Philippians. 
Tychicus,  a  faithful  minister  and  greatly  beloved  by  Paul, 
a  resident  of  Ephesus  (Acts  20.  4),  was  the  bearer  of  the 
letters  to  the  Ephesians  (Philippians  6.  21-23;  2  Timothy 
4.  12)  and  the  Colossians  (Philippians  4.  7,  8)  to  their 
destination.  Aristarchus  seems  also  to  have  been  a  pris- 
oner at  Rome  (Colossians  4.  10).  He  was  a  citizen  of 
Thessalonica  (Acts  27.  2)  and  was  with  Paul  at  Ephesus 
(Acts  19.  29).  Others  were  with  him  at  times:  Mark 
(Colossians  4.  10),  with  whom  Paul  once  refused  to  labor 
(Acts  15.  37  f.)  ;  Justus  (Colossians  4.  11)  was  a  comfort 
to  him;  Epaphras  of  Colossse  visited  him  (Colossians  1. 
7;  4.  12)  ;  Luke,  the  beloved  physician,  was  with  him  for 
a  time  (Colossians  4.  14) ;  Onesimus,  the  runaway  slave, 
converted  to  Christ  and  now  a  "faithful  and  beloved 
brother"  (Colossians  4.  9),  is  sent  back  to  Philemon,  the 
bearer  of  the  beautiful  letter  which  bears  his  master's 
name.  Demas  too  is  mentioned  (Colossians  4.  14;  Phile- 
mon 24)  as  a  fellow  worker,  but  the  last  reference  to  him 

102 


CHRISTIAmTY  IN  EOME 

is  far  from  praiseworthy  (2  Timothy  4.  9).  None  of  these 
to  whom  Paul  looked  for  comfort  and  help  were  Roman 
Christians. 

Paul's  Hope  of  Liberty. — At  first  Paul  believed  that  his 
imprisonment  would  end  in  acquittal  and  liberty.  He 
expects  to  visit  his  friend  Philemon  at  Colossag  (Philemon 
22)  and  to  see  his  beloved  Philippians  again  (Philippians 
1.  26;  2.  24).  But  his  captivity  dragged  on,  and  Paul 
lost  hope  of  his  release.  Examine  2  Timothy  4.  6-8  and 
state  Paul's  belief  concerning  the  manner  in  which  his 
imprisonment  will  end.  Consult  also  2  Timothy  4.  16-19 
and  note  that  he  has  had  a  hearing  in  the  imperial  court. 
To  what  extent  did  this  event  encourage  Paul  to  expect  his 
acquittal?  What  help  did  he  receive  from  the  Roman 
church  ? 

The  Death  of  Paul. — Here  the  curtain  of  exact  New 
Testament  history  is  drawn  across  the  life  of  Paul,  and 
we  see  him  no  more.  The  first  subsequent  reference  to 
Paul  in  our  extant  literature  is  found  in  ""The  Epistle  of 
Clement,"  written  to  the  church  at  Corinth  nearly  a  genera- 
tion later,  at  about  the  same  time  that  our  canonical  Rev- 
elation was  produced.  Clement  writes:  "After  preaching 
both  in  the  East  and  West,  Paul  gained  the  illustrious 
reputation  due  to  his  faith,  having  taught  righteousness  to 
the  whole  world  and  come  to  the  extreme  limit  of  the  West, 
suffered  martyrdom  under  the  prefects.^'  Clement  does  not 
state  the  date  of  Paul's  martyrdom.  Whether  he  was  put 
to  death  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace — a  charge  easily  proved 
against  him  from  the  Roman  point  of  view — or  whether  he 
suffered  as  a  Christian  under  the  Neronian  persecution 
is  not  known.  Tertullian,  writing  near  the  close  of  the 
second  century,  exclaims,  "How  happy  is  its  church 
[Rome]  on  which  the  apostles  poured  forth  all  their  doc- 
trine with  their  blood;  where  Peter  endures  a  passion  like 
his  Lord's;  where  Paul  wins  a  crown  in  a  death  like 
John's!"  [that  is,  the  Baptist].  This  tradition  that  Paul 
was  beheaded  is  true  to  the  manner  in  which  the  death 
penalty  was  inflicted  by  Rome  upon  its  condemned 
citizens. 

103 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  KEFORMERS 

Peter  and  the  Roman  Church 
Some  Historical  Consideration. — The  New-Testament 
evidence  that  Peter  was  at  Rome  is  found  in  1  Peter  5.  13. 
Mark  was  in  Rome  at  about  the  time  that  Peter  came 
thither  (Colossians  4.  10;  Philemon  24).  The  tradition 
that  he  was  for  twenty-five  years  bishop  of  Rome,  almost 
universally  accepted  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  for 
centuries,  was  first  recorded  by  Jerome,  who  lived  in  the 
fourth  century.  The  first  historical  reference  to  Peter  is 
in  ''The  Epistle  of  Clement,^^  already  quoted.  He  writes: 
"Peter,  through  unrighteous  envy,  endured  not  one  or  two 
but  numerous  labors  and,  when  he  had  at  length  suffered 
martyrdom,  departed  to  the  place  of  glory  due  him.^'  Cle- 
ment does  not  state  the  place  of  his  death,  but  it  was 
apparently  well  understood  that  the  martyrdom  occurred  at 
Rome.  Ignatius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  writing,  fifteen  or 
twenty  years  later  than  Clement,  to  the  church  at  Rome, 
says,  "I  do  not,  like  Peter  and  Paul,  issue  orders  to  you.^' 
Here  the  connection  of  Peter  with  Rome  is  treated  as  a 
well-known  fact.  About  three  quarters  of  a  century  later 
Tertullian  records  that  Peter  was  crucified  at  Rome.  Some 
two  generations  later  Origen  writes  that  Peter  was  crucified 
head  downward.  The  fact  that  this  is  not  stated  in  the 
earlier  literature  renders  Origen's  account  rather  untrust- 
worthy. At  the  most  Peter  could  have  been  in  Rome  but  a 
very  brief  period  before  his  death. 

Persecution  of  the  Roman  Church 
The  Burning  of  Rome. — In  the  summer  of  a.  d.  64  a 
dreadful  fire  devastated  Rome  for  nine  days.    The  Roman 
historians  Tacitus  and  Suetonius  both  assert  that  the  city 
was  fired  by  Nero's  orders. 

To  remove  the  suspicion  that  he  had  ordered  the  city  set 
on  fire  Nero,  according  to  Tacitus,  determined  to  transfer 
the  guilt  to  others.  "For  this  purpose,"  says  Tacitus,  "he 
punished  with  exquisite  torture  a  race  of  men  detested  for 
their  evil  practices,  by  vulgar  appellation  commonly  called 
Christians.   .    .    .''^ 

1  Annals,  Tacitus,  Book  XV,  Section  44. 

104 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  ROME 

The  Roman  Empire  Becomes  Hostile  to  Christianity. — 

The  statement  of  Suetonius  that  Nero  "inflicted  punish- 
ments on  the  Christians,  a  sort  of  people  who  held  a  new 
and  impious  superstition,"  together  with  the  foregoing  ac- 
count from  Tacitus,  indicates  that  Christianity,  at  about 
the  time  of  the  death  of  Paul  and  Peter,  entered  upon  a 
new  stage  of  its  career.  Hitherto  the  Roman  government 
had  been  tolerant  of  the  new  religion:  in  many  cases  in 
PauFs  career  the  government's  attitude  was  helpful  to  the 
spread  of  the  faith.  Prom  this  time  on  the  empire  becomes 
hostile  to  Christianity,  and  the  church  believes  that  Rome 
is  the  great  enemy  of  the  faith. 

The  Second  Geneeation  of  Roman  Christians 

The  Testimony  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. — The  only 

indication  in  this  Epistle  of  its  authorship  or  its  destina- 
tion is  found  in  chapter  13.  24.  While  this  expression 
might  mean  that  the  letter  was  written  somewhere  in  Italy 
and  was  sent  to  some  church  located  elsewhere,  it  is  much 
more  natural  that  it  was  written  to  a  church  in  Italy,  and 
the  general  conclusion  now  is  that  Hebrews  was  written 
to  the  Christians  in  Rome.  The  book  was  written  most 
probably  between  a.  d.  70  and  96.  If  the  Epistle  was  writ- 
ten to  the  church  at  Rome,  we  have  additional  light  upon 
this  church  in  the  first  or  second  decade  after  the  death  of 
Paul.  We  have,  then,  some  hints  as  to  the  effect  of  Ne- 
ronian  persecution  upon  Roman  Christianity.  This  terrible 
scourging  of  the  church  has  passed  (10.  32),  but  its  effects 
remain.  Read  3.  12  to  4.  16  and  observe  the  danger  of 
apostasy,  which  the  author  feels  threatens  this  church,  and 
note  too  the  comfort  and  the  hope  he  feels  must  be  ex- 
tended to  them.  See  especially  3.  14;  4.  1,  3,  6,  9,  11. 
Read  also  6.  4-8,  wherein  the  author  again  reverts  to  this 
danger.  They  have  passed  through  affliction  (10.  32),  and, 
stunned  by  its  blow,  the  church  has  not  moved  forward  with 
faith  and  confidence  (5.  11-14).  Read  also  10.  23-25  and 
state  additional  instances  of  this  lukewarmness.  The  author 
feels  that  his  readers  need  to  be  earnestly  exhorted  to  be 
steadfast  and  true  to  Christ  under  all  affliction.     Study 

105 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

2.  1;  3.  12,  13;  4.  11,  14,  16;  6.  11,  12;  12.  12,  13;  13. 
22  and  note  the  anxiety  of  the  writer  that  his  readers 
shall  rise  to  the  fullest  faith  and  zeal.  They  were  not 
lax  in  noble  service  in  the  past  (6.  10)  nor  were  they 
crushed  by  persecution.  On  the  contrary  (10.  32-34),  they 
had  passed  triumphantly  through  great  evils.  Observe  the 
exhortations  to  measure  up  to  persecution  (12.  4)  :  even 
Christ  was  perfected  through  suffering  (5.  8) ;  the  great 
heroes  of  the  past  endured  every  form  of  affliction  (11.  1- 
40) ;  chastening  is  God's  way  of  dealing  with  his  children 
whom  he  loves  (12.  5-13). 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  Fits  Conditions  in  the  Church 
at  Rome. — Observe  the  way  in  which  the  author  seeks  to 
lead  his  readers  to  faith  and  activity.  What  is  urged  in 
Hebrews  13.  1-3?  Note  the  emphasis  upon  simple  wants 
(13.  5)  and  upon  the  finding  of  one's  life  strength  in  God 
(13.  6).  What  effect  would  the  statement  in  13.  14,  if 
really  believed,  have  upon  their  lives  ?  The  persecution  by 
Nero  was  in  a.  d.  64.  Domitian,  who  reigned  from  81  to 
96,  introduced  the  first  general  persecution  of  the  Chris- 
tians not  only  in  Rome  but  in  other  portions  of  the  empire. 
The  book  of  Hebrews  may  have  been  written  at  the  very 
beginning  of  these  persecutions. 

The  Epistle  of  Clement. — There  is  extant  an  interesting 
and  important  letter,  written  about  a.  d.  95  in  the  name  of 
"The  Church  of  God  Which  Sojourns  at  Rome"  to  "The 
Church  of  God  Sojourning  at  Corinth,"  which  throws  con- 
siderable light  on  both  these  churches.  It  is  written  in  the 
midst  of  the  persecutions,  perhaps  during  a  lull,  instigated 
by  Domitian.  There  is  no  hint  that  the  Roman  church  has 
wavered  under  these  tribulations.  On  the  contrary,  the 
Roman  church  feels  strong  enough  to  take  a  rich  interest 
in  the  churches  everywhere.  Already  the  church  at  Rome 
feels  itself  in  a  sort  of  headship  of  Christianity.  The 
church  at  Jerusalem  had  perished  or  had  withdrawn  from 
the  city  before  its  destruction  in  A.  D.  70.  Jewish  Chris- 
tianity had  fallen  into  a  secondary  place.  Rome,  by  its 
position,  infused  something  of  its  imperialism  into  the 
Christians  who   dwelt  within   its  walls.     This   letter   to 

106 


CHEISTIANITY  IN  EOME 

Corinth  begins  with  an  apology  that  the  Roman  church 
had  not  earlier  given  its  attention  to  the  dissensions  at 
Corinth  and  excuses  the  delay  by  the  persecutions  at  Eome. 
The  letter  claims  also  that  its  admonitions  are  spoken  by 
the  authority  of  Christ,  and  to  disobey  the  advices  of  the 
Eoman  church  is  to  disobey  God.  It  is  stated  also  that  the 
church  at  Eome  is  in  prayer  for  the  church  throughout  the 
world.  Here  are  the  first  germs  of  the  spirit  of  Eoman 
supremacy;  but  it  is  to  be  noted  that  these  beginnings 
of  church  imperialism  are  put  forward  not  in  the  name 
of  the  bishop  but  of  the  entire  church.  The  letter  is  ear- 
nest in  its  demand  for  practical  morality,  and  there  is  a 
fineness  of  piety  in  demanding  as  the  basis  of  morality  an 
inner  spirit  that  discerns  and  motives  all :  "Let  us  reflect 
how  near  he  is,  and  that  none  of  our  thoughts  or  reason- 
ings are  hid  from  him.  He  is  a  Searcher  of  the  thoughts 
and  the  desires  of  the  heart :  his  breath  is  in  us,  and  when 
he  pleases  he  will  take  it  away.-"^  The  church  is  not  lack- 
ing in  noble  sympathy  and  service :  "We  know  many  among 
ourselves  who  have  given  themselves  up  to  bonds  in  order 
that  they  might  ransom  others.  Many,  too,  have  surren- 
dered themselves  to  slavery,  that  with  the  price  which  they 
received  for  themselves  they  might  provide  food  for 
others."^  The  church  with  such  devotion  had  some  right 
to  speak  authoritatively  of  Christ  to  others. 

Summary  :  The  Coming  Kingdom 

Two  Types  of  Christianity  at  Rome. — The  history  of  the 
Eoman  church  of  the  first  Christian  century  has  two  cen- 
ters of  supreme  interest:  (1)  First,  our  attention  centers 
in  Paul,  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  The  greatness 
of  this  sturdy  evangelist  and  organizer  of  the  church  is 
enough  to  give  value  to  every  available  fact  to  illumine  his 
last  years.  (2)  Then,  too,  all  the  evidence  points  that  at 
Eome  there  was  formed  a  Gentile  Christian  community 
which  did  not  owe  to  Paul  the  characteristic  essentials  of 
its   faith   and   practice.      Philippians,   Hebrews,   and  the 

2  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthiana,  Chapter  XXI,  condensed. 
8  Ibid.,  Chapter  LV. 

107 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  REFORMEKS 

Epistle  of  Clement  all  bear  witness  that  the  leaders  of  the 
Roman  church  did  not  follow  in  close  fashion  the  teach- 
ing of  Paul.  From  the  earliest  notice  of  the  church  Roman 
Christians  felt  conscious  of  a  kind  of  self-sufficiency,  which 
foreshadowed  the  papacy  of  later  ages.  The  mystical,  fer- 
vent piety  of  Paul  is  wanting.  Religion  moves  more  in  the 
sphere  of  practical  duties  and  in  loyalty  to  the  constituted 
authorities. 

The  Church  at  Rome  a  Significant  Achievement. — The 
establishment  of  the  church  in  Rome  was  the  greatest  tri- 
umph yet  achieved  by  Christianity.  The  missionary  oppor- 
tunities of  this  church  were  unsurpassed.  Here  was  to  take 
place  the  chief  struggle  with  the  imperial  power  for  toler- 
ance and  legal  standing.  Here,  since  Rome  was  filled  with 
innumerable  trade  guilds,  would  the  economic  disturbances 
incident  to  acceptance  of  the  new  religion  become  most 
acute.  Here  too,  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  would 
the  Christian  churches  more  and  more  naturally  turn  for 
inspiration  and  example. 

Greek  Emigrants  Led  the  First  Triumphs  at  Rome. — It 
is  of  interest  that  Christians  in  Rome  during  this  period 
were  a  Greek-speaking  people.  Greek  was  a  widely  spoken 
language  in  Rome  in  the  first  and  second  centuries  of  our 
era.  Juvenal,  who  hates  these  foreigners,  exclaims,  ^^It  is 
that  the  city  [Rome]  is  become  Greek  that  I  cannot  toler- 
ate." These  Greek  immigrants  were  the  successful  trades- 
men of  the  day  and  the  confidential  business  agents  and 
teachers  of  the  rich.  Energetic,  intelligent,  and  numerous, 
they  would  arouse  the  ire  of  Romans  of  the  type  of  Juvenal. 
Yet  it  was  these  self-reliant,  skilled,  active  residents  who 
led  the  church  to  its  first  triumphs  in  the  eternal  city. 

SOJOUENERS  AT  ROME 

Sojourners. — "The  church  of  God  which  sojourns  at 
Rome"  are  the  opening  words  of  Clement's  letter.  After 
fifty  years  of  history,  after  being  tested  by  two  persecutions, 
after  having  drawn  into  itself  wealth  and  culture,  after 
having  met  triumphantly  the  imperial  power,  this  church 
regards  itself  as  resident  only  temporarily  in  Rome.    It  was 

108 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  ROME 

just  this  consciousness  of  not  having  its  roots  in  time  and 
place  which  gave  the  early  church  its  power. 

Firsthand  Experience  With  God. — These  Roman  Chris- 
tians were  self-reliant.  This  self-reliance  did  not  always 
save  them  from  faults  but  it  made  them  aggressive  and  con- 
ferred leadership  upon  them.  "To  believe  what  is  true  for 
you  in  your  private  heart  is  true  for  all  men — that  is 
genius,"  writes  Emerson.  To  look  into  one's  own  heart  to 
hear  the  voice  of  God  is  the  only  way  of  advance  for  Christ's 
kingdom.  We  cannot  feed  our  soul  upon  the  religious  ex- 
periences of  other  men.  The  creative  epochs  of  morality 
and  religion  always  spring  from  firsthand  experiences  of 
God.  Many  an  individual  and  many  a  church  would 
awaken  into  new  thrilling  and  powerful  life  had  they  faith 
enough  to  let  go  past  programs  to  seek  fresh  directions  from 
God. 

Paul  a  Poor  Denominationalist. — Even  Paul  felt  the 
power  and  coming  triumphs  of  this  church,  which  seemed 
more  than  any  other  of  the  day  independent  of  apostolic 
guidance.  In  whatever  way  Christ  is  proclaimed,  in  my 
way,  or  in  another  way,  I  am  content  as  long  as  his  gospel 
is  triumphant — this  was  the  position  of  Paul.  Despite  all 
his  positive  leadership  Paul  was  not  a  good  denominational- 
ist. He  checked  the  factions  at  Corinth;  he  saw  the  unity 
beneath  the  factions  at  Rome.  The  great  Christian  always 
is  of  this  type.  Christianity  is  a  life  so  rich,  and  its  social 
program  so  all-embracing  that  manifold  views  of  its  mission 
and  methods  are  sure  to  be  held.  Keep  your  love-doors 
open  to  other  churches. 

The  Larger  Fellowship. — This  Roman  church's  self-reli- 
ance blossomed  into  a  great  fraternal  concern  for  the  uni- 
versal church.  They  could  not  have  been  unmoved  by  the 
great  example  of  Paul.  No  church  can  narrow  its  interests 
to  its  own  community  and  become  great.  It  must  have  a 
social  vision,  an  evangelistic  zeal,  a  foreign-missionary  pas- 
sion. Think  deeply  now  and  answer  to  your  best  self: 
"How  far  beyond  myself  and  my  family  do  my  real  interests 
pass  ?  Is  there  in  me  a  real  Christ  passion  to  do  something 
for  others  beyond  the  selfish  circles  of  my  own  home?" 

109 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMEES 

Pray  for  real  nobility  of  soul  to  live  in  terms  of  great  fellow- 
ship, and,  therefore,  of  great  service. 

The  Brick  Throwers'  Tribute. — These  Christian  so- 
journers in  Rome  became  important  enough  to  persecute. 
Is  your  life  so  actively  good  that  it  arouses  opposition? 
Thank  God,  then,  that  your  Christianity  is  alive.  If  you 
have  a  clear  vision  of  the  ought-to-be  and  seek  to  translate 
your  ideal  into  the  world^s  life,  you  will  find  the  worshipers 
of  the  thing  that  is,  wanting  to  stone  you.  It  is  not  the 
confetti  thrown  at  you  but  the  bricks  which  are  the  world's 
great  tribute.  Enough  bricks  were  thrown  at  Paul  to  build 
a  monument  tall  enough  to  be  seen  across  nineteen  centu- 
ries. Nero  and  Domitian,  chief  brick  throwers  of  the  first 
century,  furnished  the  foundations  for  the  imperialistic, 
dreaming  church  that  finally  triumphed  over  the  empire. 
In  God's  name  do  something  so  positive  and  aggressive  in 
the  good  cause  of  Christ  that  somebody  will  want  to  see  you 
crucified ! 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  Describe  the  progress  made  by  Christianity  in  Rome  up 
to  A.  D.   58. 

2.  What  vexing  questions  did  Paul  seek  to  solve  in  his 
letter  to  the  Roman  church? 

3.  Describe  Paul's  life  in  Rome. 

4.  What  services  did  Paul's  life  in  Rome  render  the  Chris- 
tians in  this  city? 

5.  What  was  Peter's  relationship  to  the  church  at  Rome? 

6.  What  testimony  does  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  bear 
to  the  conditions  in  the  Roman  church  just  after  Nero's 
persecution? 

7.  State  some  of  the  exhortations  to  endure  which  the  author 
of  this  letter  gives. 

8.  What  light  does  the  Epistle  of  Clement  throw  on  this 
period? 

9.  In  what  way  did  the  church  at  Rome  begin  to  assert 
authority? 

10.  Which  do  you  consider  the  most  important  pastorate 
of  Paul?     Give  reasons  for  your  answer. 

11.  What  was  the  most  important  service  rendered  by  Paul 
to  the  Christian  Church? 

12.  Why  did  the  Christians  at  Rome  neglect  Paul? 

13.  In  what  sense  was  the  church  at  Rome  the  most  direct 

110 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  ROME 

challenge    of   paganism   which   the   new   faith   had   yet  pro- 
claimed? 

Illustrative  Readings 

The  Apostolic  Age,  McGiffert,  pages  324-439,  627-33. 
Paul  and  His  Epistles,  Hayes,  pages  301-15. 
T?ie  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  Ramsay,  Chapter  XI. 
The  Church  of  the  Apostles,  Ragg,  pages  193-212. 
Article   "Clement  of  Rome"  in  A  Dictionary  of  the  Apos- 
tolic Church,  Hastings. 


Ill 


CHAPTEE   IX 

THE  CHUECHES  OF  ASIA  MINOE 

Varied  circumstances  combined  to  plant  in  Asia  Minor 
many  strong  Christian  communities  which  in  various  ways 
possessed  leading  influence  in  the  Christian  Church  of  the 
first  three  centuries.  The  present  chapter  indicates  the 
spread  of  Christianity  in  the  provinces  of  Asia  Minor  dur- 
ing the  first  century  and  points  out  the  leading  character- 
istics of  some  of  these  churches  and  the  chief  factors  in 
their  development. 

The  Peovinces  of  Asia  Minor 

Location  and  Political  Divisions. — Asia  Minor  stretches 
from  north  to  south  between  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Medi- 
terranean, a  distance  of  four  hundred  miles,  and  east  and 
west  seven  hundred  miles  from  the  ^gean  Sea  to  the  Ar- 
menian plateau.  In  the  first  century  the  Eomans  admin- 
istered this  rich  country  in  seven  provinces.  Tarsus,  the 
birthplace  of  Paul,  was  in  the  province  of  Cilicia.  Across 
the  Taurus  Mountains  to  the  north  lay  Cappadocia.  Oc- 
cupying nearly  the  center  of  the  country  was  the  great  prov- 
ince of  Galatia,  a  part  of  which  was  evangelized  by  Paul. 
Stretching  along  the  Black  Sea  were  Bithynia  and  Pontus, 
administered  by  one  governor.  Here  Pliny,  the  friend  of 
Trajan,  was  in  charge  during  the  opening  years  of  the  sec- 
ond century.  The  province  of  Asia  included  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  western  end  of  the  peninsula.  Lysia  and  Pam- 
phylia  lay  to  the  south  of  Galatia  and  Asia,  along  the 
Mediterranean. 

The  Spread  of  Christianity  in  the  First  Century 

Cappadocia. — From  1  Peter  1.  1  it  appears  that  within  the 
first  generation  of  Christians  the  gospel  already  had  many 

112 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA  MINOR 

adherents  in  this  province.  A  great  trade  route  from 
Ephesus  to  the  Euphrates  ran  through  the  heart  of  Cappa- 
docia;  and  although  the  population  was  not  large,  by  the 
end  of  the  second  century  there  were  a  number  of  towns 
important  enough  and  sufficiently  evangelized  to  become 
the  seat  of  bishoprics.  During  the  latter  quarter  of  the 
second  century  Christians  were  numerous  enough  to  call 
upon  themselves  a  severe  persecution.  It  seems  to  have 
been  precipitated  by  the  conversion  of  the  wife  of  the 
Roman  provincial  governor.  Succeeding  generations  pro- 
duced many  eminent,  devoted  Christian  ministers,  scholars, 
and  martyrs.  The  most  noted  of  the  Cappadocian  church 
were  Basil,  exarch  of  Csesarea,  the  capital  of  the  province, 
his  brother  Gregory  of  Nyassa,  and  BasiPs  intimate  friend 
Gregory  Nazianzen.  These  ''three  great  Cappadocians," 
as  they  are  known  in  church  history,  were  eminent  leaders 
of  the  Kingdom  in  the  pre-Constantine  age. 

Bithynia. — What  reference  to  this  part  of  Asia  Minor  is 
given  in  the  account  of  PauPs  journeys  (Acts  16.  7)  ? 
What  further  information  is  given  by  1  Peter  1.  1  ?  Re- 
call what  is  said  in  Chapter  VII  (in  connection  with 
Pliny)  concerning  the  spread  of  Christianity  along  the 
shores  of  the  Euxine  Sea  in  the  first  century.  The  founda- 
tions of  Christianity  were  well  laid  in  this  province.  Con- 
stantine  chose  the  European  side  of  the  Bosporus  for  his  new 
capital  for  the  express  reason  that  Bithynia  was  so  rich 
in  Christians.  For  the  same  reason  Nicaea  was  chosen 
as  the  seat  for  the  great  council  of  this  name  held  in 
A.  D.  325. 

Galatia. — The  gospel  was  first  proclaimed  in  this  prov- 
ince by  Paul  and  Barnabas.  Name  the  cities  in  which 
churches  arose  under  their  ministry.  Recall  the  contro- 
versy that  called  forth  PauPs  letter  to  the  Galatians.^ 
The  Montanist  movement  of  the  second  century,  primarily 
a  renascence  of  the  prophetic  spirit  in  the  church,  was 
widespread  in  Galatia,  and  its  history  evidences  that  Chris- 
tianity in  this  province  early  spread  to  the  remote  vil- 


See  Chapter  V. 

113 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

lages.  As  in  Bithynia,  so  here  was  fertile  soil  for  the  new 
religion.  Christianity  made  its  appeal  at  first  to  the 
humbler  classes,  but  gradually  it  extended  through  slaves, 
children,  and  wives  into  families  of  wealth  and  position. 
The  emperor  Julian  complained  to  the  pagan  high  priest 
of  Ancyra,  the  capital  of  the  province,  that  even  the  fami- 
lies of  pagan  priests  had  embraced  the  new  religion. 

Pamphylia  and  Lycia. — Little  is  known  of  the  Christian- 
izing of  these  small  provinces.  Who  first  proclaimed  the 
new  religion  in  Pamphylia  (Acts  14.  25)  ?  A  dozen  towns 
with  episcopal  residence  were  the  centers  of  Christianity 
at  the  time  of  the  council  of  Nicaea.  It  is  probable  that 
evangelists  from  Perga,  the  capital  of  Pamphylia,  were  the 
propagandists  of  the  new  faith. 

The  Province  of  Asia. — Much  fuller  information  is  to  be 
had  concerning  the  growth  of  the  church  in  Asia.  Euse- 
bius  preserves  an  interesting  fragment  from  a  letter  of 
Polycrates,  bishop  of  Ephesus,  in  a.  d.  200.  It  is  to  Victor, 
bishop  of  Rome.  ^^In  Asia,"  writes  Polycrates,  "also  great 
lights  have  fallen  asleep  which  shall  rise  again  on  the  day 
of  the  Lord's  coming.  Among  these  are  Philip,  one  of  the 
twelve  apostles,  who  fell  asleep  in  Hieropolis;  John,  who 
reclined  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Lord,  fell  asleep  at  Ephesus ; 
Polycarp  in  Smyrna,  who  was  a  bishop  and  martyr;  and 
Thraseas,  bishop  and  martyr  from  Eumenia,  who  fell  asleep 
in  Smyrna.  Why  need  I  mention  the  bishop  and  martyr 
Sagaris,  who  fell  asleep  in  Laodicea,  or  the  blessed  Papir- 
ius,  or  Melito,  the  eunuch,  who  lived  altogether  in  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  who  lies  in  Sardis,  awaiting  the  episcopate 
from  heaven  ?  Seven  of  my  relatives  were  bishops,  and  I  am 
the  eighth.  I  could  mention  the  bishops  who  were  present 
[that  is,  at  a  conference  held  by  Polycrates]  whose 
names  should  I  write  them  would  constitute  a  great  mul- 
titude.''2  Note  the  cities  here  mentioned  by  Polycrates,  and 
from  the  enumeration  of  the  bishops  consider  the  wide- 
spread extension  of  Christianity  at  the  end  of  the  second 
century.     That  the  church  of  Asia  stood  ready  to  meet 


«  Church  History,  Book  V,  Chapter  XXV,  condensed. 

114 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA  MINOR 

with  bold  front  the  growing  imperialism  of  the  Roman 
church  indicates  the  rich  consciousness  of  vigorous  Chris- 
tianity possessed  by  the  Asian  churches  of  the  period. 

The  Church  at  Ephesus 

The  City  and  the  Christian  Community. — Reread  what 
is  said  about  the  city  of  Ephesus  in  Chapter  VI.  The  city 
was  the  most  influential  of  the  province  at  this  period.  It 
was  the  commercial  center,  and  from  it  there  ran  a  great 
trade  route  through  the  heart  of  Asia  Minor  to  the  Eu- 
phrates valley.  Read  also  the  statements  in  Chapter  VII 
concerning  the  beginnings  of  Christianity  in  Ephesus. 
State  again  the  influences  that  terminated  Paul's  min- 
istry in  the  city.  During  the  apostle's  residence  in  Ephe- 
sus he  undoubtedly  directed  mission  tours  into  other  cities. 
During  this  time  churches  were  established  in  other  cities 
(1  Corinthians  16.  19).  It  would  seem  that  Epaphras  had 
been  sent  by  Paul  to  Colossse,  Laodicea,  and  Hieropolis 
(Colossians  1.  7;  4.  13).  Examine  1  Corinthians  16.  12, 
19  and  name  other  missionary  colaborers  with  Paul  at 
Ephesus.  Observe  the  statement  by  Paul  in  1  Corinthians 
16.  9  and,  comparing  it  with  what  was  learned  in  Chapter 
VII  about  the  trade  guilds,  consider  the  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  establishing  a  strong  church  in  this  commercial, 
political,  religious  city.  Two  men  of  this  first  generation  of 
Ephesian  Christians — Tychicus  (Acts  20.  4;  Ephesians  6. 
21;  2  Timothy  4.  12;  Titus  3.  12)  and  Trophimus  (Acts 
21.  29;  2  Timothy  4.  20;  and  quite  probably  2  Corinthians 
8.  18,  19,  22) — have  an  enduring  record  of  their  faith  and 
loyalty. 

The  Tradition  Concerning  the  Apostle  John  at  Ephesus. 
— The  tradition  that  the  Apostle  John,  within  a  few  years 
after  the  death  of  Paul,  became  a  resident  of  Ephesus  and 
guided  the  destinies  of  its  church  until  the  close  of  his  long 
life  near  the  end  of  the  century  is  quite  trustworthy.  Ire- 
naeus,  bishop  of  Lyons  in  the  early  half  of  the  second  cen- 
tury, in  his  youth  was  a  pupil  of  Polycarp,  bishop  of 
Smyrna.     Polycarp  in  turn  had  been  a   disciple  of  the 

115 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Apostle  John.  Of  his  teacher  Irengeus  writes:  "I  am  able 
to  describe  the  very  place  in  which  the  blessed  Polycarp  sat 
as  he  discoursed  and  the  accounts  which  he  gave  of  his 
intercourse  with  John  and  with  the  others  who  had  seen 
the  Lord."3  In  his  book  Against  Heresies  Irenseus  further 
states,  "The  church  in  Ephesus  was  founded  by  Paul,  and 
John  dwelt  among  them  permanently  till  the  times  of 
Trajan." 

The  Testimony  of  Revelation  2.  1-7. — What  inference 
may  be  drawn  from  Revelation  1.  11  concerning  the  im- 
portance of  the  Ephesian  church  ?  Consider  what  is  meant 
by  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Ephesus.  Observe  carefully 
the  qualities  of  the  Ephesian  Christians  for  which  they 
are  praised.  Their  "works"  were  their  witnessing  for 
Christ,  their  evangelistic  labors.  They  patiently  endured 
the  hardships  which  Christian  profession  involved  in  a 
pagan  city.  They  did  not  take  up  with  every  whim  of 
teaching  presented  by  those  claiming  apostleship  who  vis- 
ited their  city.  Note  the  special  praise  bestowed  in  verse 
6.  This  heresy  will  be  discussed  in  Chapter  XII.  What 
adverse  criticism  is  passed  upon  Ephesian  Christianity? 
The  churches  of  Asia  were  sorely  tried  by  the  persecutions 
under  Domitian  (a.  d.  81-96)-,  and  the  Ephesian  disciples 
may  well  have  blanched  under  them.  There  is  a  glowing 
tribute  to  the  Ephesian  church  ten  or  iifteen  years  later  by 
Ignatius,  bishop  of  Antioch  in  Syria.  Ignatius,  one  of  the 
worthiest  leaders  of  the  early  church,  was  being  taken  to 
Rome  for  martyrdom.  On  reaching  Smyrna  he  wrote  to 
the  Ephesian  church :  "I  am  far  inferior  to  you  and  require 
to  be  sanctified  by  your  church  of  Ephesus,  so  renowned 
throughout  the  world."^  Ignatius  also  knew  that  Ephesus 
was  proof  against  heretical  teachers :  "I  have  heard  of  some 
who  visited  you,  having  false  doctrines,  whom  you  did  not 
suffer  to  sow  their  tares  among  you."^  Consider  the  bear- 
ing of  such  testimony  upon  both  the  ministry  of  the  Apostle 
John  and  upon  the  character  of  Ephesian  Christianity. 

3  Church  History,  Euaebixis,  Book  V,  Volume  XX. 
*  Chapter  VIII. 
» Chapter  IX. 

116 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA  MINOR 

Other  Prominent  Churches  of  Asia 

Smyrna. — Study  Revelation  2.  9,  10.  Note  the  persecu- 
tions through  which  this  church  has  passed  and  will  pass. 
However,  the  "ten  days"  indicate  that  the  author  believes 
the  persecution  will  be  brief.  What  form  will  the  persecu- 
tion take?  In  what  way  does  the  author  characterize  the 
Jews  who  take  part  in  the  persecution  ?  What  has  been  the 
effect  of  past  persecutions  upon  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
church  ?  Some  years  later  Ignatius  writes  to  the  Smyrnan 
church:  "I  have  observed  that  you  are  perfected  in  an 
immovable  faith  as  if  you  were  nailed  to  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."^  The  steadfast  faith  of  the  church  of 
Smyrna  in  the  closing  years  of  the  first  century  is  indeed 
its  unfading  crown. 

Pergamum. — The  first  temple  for  the  worship  of  the 
Roman  emperor  to  be  built  in  Asia  was  erected  here  about 
B.  c.  29  in  the  honor  of  Rome  and  Augustus.  Trajan 
and  Severus  in  due  course  also  were  honored  by  temples,  in 
which  they  were  worshiped.  Thus,  the  imperial  cult  here 
was  unusually  prominent.  There  is  no  record  extant  of 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  this  city.  Communi- 
cation was  easy  and  frequent  between  the  capital  and  the 
important  commercial  cities  Smyrna  and  Ephesus,  and 
this  city  too  may  have  shared  in  the  expanding  missions 
whose  foundation  was  laid  by  Paul  in  Ephesus.  Study 
Revelation  2.  13-17.  Since  Pergamum  was  the  capital  of 
the  province  and  the  chief  seat  of  the  imperial  worship  it 
was  the  city  of  "Satan's  throne.''^  The  persecution  under 
Domitian  resulted  from  the  attempt  to  enforce  this  wor- 
ship of  the  emperor.  Refusal  to  worship  was  an  expression 
of  treason.  Death  was  the  consequent  penalty.  Antipas 
is  remembered  as  the  first  of  many  who  endured  martyr- 
dom rather  than  apostasy.  Observe  that  the  church  here 
was  peculiarly  susceptible  to  heresy. 

Thyatira. — This  church  was  located  in  a  commercial  city 
of  some  importance,  which  lay  upon  the  chief  highway 
from  Pergamum  into  the  heart  of  Asia  Minor.    Nothing  is 

e  Chapter  I. 

117 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMEES 

now  known  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  this 
city.  Study  Revelation  2.  18-29.  The  church  has  been 
unusually  steadfast  under  persecution.  Note  the  unusual 
result  of  these  afflictions  upon  this  church.  Jezebel  most 
probably  was  an  influential  woman  of  the  church  who  was 
leading  her  followers  into  lawless  extravagances.  This  lib- 
ertinism previously  had  been  rebuked  by  the  author  or  by 
some  other  overseer  of  the  church  (2.  21), but  the  movement 
was  still  unchecked.  Both  the  prophetess  and  her  followers 
are  threatened  with  dire  punishment.  Compare  the  situa- 
tion here  with  the  conditions  in  Corinth  reproved  by  Paul. 
The  fornication  condemned  is  that  Christian  association 
with  paganism  which  involves  recognition  of  heathen  ritual 
and  heathen  deities.  Thyatira,  being  a  center  of  the  wool 
trade,  the  manufacture  of  woolen  goods,  and  dyed  fabrics 
(Acts  16.  14),  was  rich  in  trade  guilds.  Extant  inscrip- 
tions speak  of  the  guilds  of  dyers,  cloak  makers,  potters, 
workers  in  brass,  and  many  others.  Few  cities  in  the  East 
were  so  thoroughly  "unionized."  All  these  guilds  were 
connected  with  religion.  Their  social  banquets  involved 
religious  ceremonies.  It  was  well-nigh  impossible  in  a  com- 
mercial city  for  artisans  to  win  a  livelihood  apart  from  these 
guilds.  Consequently,  under  the  economic  pressure  it  was 
quite  natural  that  a  prophetess  of  the  church  should  con- 
sent to  Christians  keeping  their  membership  in  the  guilds 
and  participating  in  the  heathen  rites  such  membership  in- 
volved. This  advice  would  be  given  in  the  spirit  that  to 
a  Christian  "no  idol  is  anything  in  the  world,  and  that 
there  is  no  God  but  one"  (1  Corinthians  8.  4).  Read  again 
1  Corinthians  8.  1-13. 

Sardis. — This  city  was  once  the  capital  of  the  kingdom 
of  Lydia.  Croesus,  whose  name  has  become  a  synonym  of 
wealth,  had  his  residence  here.  Study  Revelation  3.  1-6. 
What  sort  of  "works"  are  attributed  to  this  church?  In 
what  state  does  the  church  now  appear?  What  hope  of 
better  conditions  does  the  author  hold?  Was  the  gospel 
preached  here  less  pure?  Or  were  the  persons  who  em- 
braced it  of  lesser  moral  and  mental  virility  than  the  Chris- 
tians of  other  cities?    What  praise  is  bestowed  upon  this 

118 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA  MINOR 

church?  Notwithstanding  the  unfavorable  view  of  the 
church  expressed  here  its  history  continued  for  twelve  cen- 
turies. In  the  reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius  its  bishop  was 
Melita,  a  scholar  and  a  saint,  who  enjoyed  distinction 
throughout  the  Christian  world. 

Philadelphia. — The  town  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  fertile 
territory  largely  given  to  the  production  of  wine.  Its  hot 
springs,  its  festivals,  and  its  temples  were  sufficiently  noted 
to  attach  the  name  "little  Athens"  to  the  city.  Read  Reve- 
lation 3.  9-13.  The  open  door  may  mean  either  the  rich 
spiritual  life  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth  and  in  heaven 
or  the  opportunity,  because  of  its  location  at  the  head  of  a 
valley  leading  upward  into  the  great  central  plateau  of 
Asia  Minor,  to  introduce  Christianity  throughout  Phrygia. 
What  are  the  "works^*  for  which  this  church  is  praised? 
What  assurance  is  given  this  church  in  regard  to  Jewish 
antagonism?  to  Roman  persecution?  Ignatius  reflects 
the  Judaizing  influences  to  which  the  church  was  exposed : 
"If  anyone  preach  the  Jewish  law  unto  you,  listen  not  to 
him.^'^  But  there  Christians  have  weathered  the  storms  of 
the  closing  century,  according  to  Ignatius:  "I  have  found 
no  division  among  you  but  exceeding  purity."^  This  city 
was  the  last  in  Asia  Minor  to  succumb  to  the  Turks. 

Laodicea. — At  Laodicea  four  great  highways  crossed,  and 
the  consequent  trade  made  it  a  chief  banking  center  of  Asia 
Minor.  As  at  Pergamum,  so  here  was  an  important  center 
of  the  worship  of  Asclepius,  the  god  of  healing.  Phrygian 
powder,  a  preparation  for  weak  eyes,  was  prepared  here. 
Christianity  seems  to  have  been  introduced  into  Laodicea 
by  Epaphras  under  the  direction  of  Paul  (Colossians  1.  7; 
4.  12,  13).  Compare  also  Colossians  2.  1,  which  indicates 
Paul's  interest  in  this  church.  Paul  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
Laodiceans  (Colossians  4.  16),  but  this  epistle  has  been 
lost.  Read  Revelation  3.  14-22.  What  is  the  criticism 
passed  upon  this  church  ?  Observe  the  manner  in  which  the 
author  uses  the  city's  reputation  in  banking  and  medicine 
to  express  his  estimate  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  church. 

'  Letter  to  the  Philadelphiana,  Chapter  VI. 
8  Ibid.,  Chapter  III. 

119 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  EEFOEMERS 

What  is  the  author's  expectation  concerning  the  future  of 
this  church?  Christianity  in  this  city  survived  the  apos- 
tolic age.  Sagaris,  bishop  of  Laodicea,  died  a  martyr 
about  A.  D.  166.  The  church  was  represented  by  its  bishop 
in  the  council  of  Nicsea,  325.  Church  councils  were  held 
in  the  city  in  363  and  486.  It  was  the  council  of  363  which 
determined  the  New  Testament  canon  for  the  Eastern 
churches. 

Colossse. — As  in  Laodicea,  so  here  the  gospel  seems  to 
have  been  first  proclaimed  in  the  city  by  Epaphras,  a  dis- 
ciple of  Paul  (Colossians  1.  6,  7;  4.  12,  13).  This  was  at 
the  time  of  Paul's  residence  in  Ephesus.  PauPs  letter  to 
the  Colossians  names  some  of  the  leaders  of  this  church  in 
its  first  years  (4.  9,  12,  15,  17).  What  peculiar  belief  and 
practice  did  Paul  warn  the  Colossians  to  avoid?  (2.  18). 
The  worship  of  angels  was  a  long-continued  practice  of  the 
Phrygian  churches.  The  Council  of  Laodicea,  about  a.  d. 
363,  declared  that  those  guilty  of  this  idolatry  must  be 
anathematized. 

Hierapolis. — This  city  lay  six  miles  north  of  Laodicea. 
Its  famous  hot  springs  made  it  a  center  of  the  worship 
of  Asclepius.  It  was  the  seat  of  the  worship  of  Leta,  a 
variety  of  the  widely  spread  worship  of  the  mother-goddess 
Cybele.  Divine  honors  were  paid  her  in  religious  festivals 
composed  of  orgiastic  rites.  Epictetus,  the  famous  slave- 
philosopher,  was  a  native  of  Hierapolis.  Epaphras  seems 
also  to  have  first  proclaimed  the  gospel  in  this  city  (Colos- 
sians 4.  12,  13).  There  is  a  strong  tradition  that  the 
Apostle  Philip  resided  in  this  city  during  the  last  years  of 
his  life.  The  injunctions  of  Paul  in  Colossians  3.  5; 
Ephesians  4.  17-19;  5.  3-5  are  particularly  appropriate  for 
Christians  dwelling  in  a  city  devoted  to  the  worship  of 
Cybele.  Papias,  bishop  of  Hierapolis  during  the  first  half 
of  the  second  century,  had  heard  the  Apostle  John  and  had 
known  intimately  many  who  were  well  acquainted  with  the 
apostles. 

Magnesia  and  Tralles. — These  cities,  lying  in  the  Msean- 
der  valley  not  far  from  Ephesus,  although  not  mentioned  in 
the  New  Testament,  had  churches  established  in  them  in  the 

120 


THE  CHUKCHES  OF  ASIA  MINOR 

apostolic  age.  The  church  at  Magnesia  sent  its  bishop, 
Damas,  and  its  presbyters,  Bassus  and  Apollonius,  to  call 
upon  Ignatius  at  Smyrna  when  on  his  way  to  Rome.  Igna- 
tius sent  back  with  them  a  letter  to  the  ^lagnesian  church. 
From  this  letter  it  seems  that  a  considerable  Jewish  element 
was  in  this  church :  "If  we  still  live  according  to  the  Jew- 
ish law,  we  acknowledge  that  we  have  not  received  grace."^ 
Jewish  Christians,  according  to  their  custom  in  other 
cities,  were  seeking  to  bind  Christians  to  the  observance  of 
the  law.  "It  is  absurd,^'  Ignatius  writes  to  the  church,  "to 
profess  Jesus  Christ  and  to  Judaizc'^io  Polybius,  bishop 
of  Tralles,  also  visited  Ignatius  in  Smyrna,  and  with  him 
a  letter  was  sent  to  the  Trallian  Christians.  Their  bishop 
gave  them  an  excellent  report:  "I  know  that  you  possess 
an  unblamable  and  sincere  mind.  You  appear  to  me  to 
live  not  after  the  manner  of  men  but  according  to  Jesus 
Christ.'^" 

Peesecutions 

The  book  of  Revelation  presents  these  Asian  churches 
under  the  shadow  of  great  persecution.  The  seven  churches 
already  have  been  subjected  to  attempts  to  check  the  spread 
of  Christianity,  and  darker  days  already  are  seen  to  be  in 
store.  This  is  the  meaning  of  the  repeated  warnings, 
injunctions  to  be  faithful  and  promised  rewards  for  those 
who  bravely  meet  the  threatening  storms. 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  Churches  of  Asia  Minor  Contributed  to  the  World^s 
Civilization. — Asia  Minor  was  a  rich,  flourishing,  populous 
country  in  the  first  century  of  our  era.  Here  Christianity 
early  took  root  in  all  the  cities  and  spread  in  the  mari- 
time provinces  to  the  remoter  villages.  We  hardly  realize 
now  the  contribution  of  these  churches  to  the  world's  civil- 
ization. Our  Christian  life  seems  to  spring  more  directly 
from  the  churches  of  the  West.    But  the  East  early  poured 

'Epistle  to  the  Magneaians,  Chapter  VIII. 

'0  Ibid.,  Chapter  X. 

"  Epistle  of  Ignatius  to  the  Tralliana,  Chapter  I. 

121 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

its  devoted  missionaries,  theologians,  and  martyrs  into  the 
churches'  life  and  made  an  important  contribution  to  the 
development  of  piety,  doctrine,  and  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion. 

The  Social  Value  of  Unselfish  Interest,  Spiritual  Cer- 
tainty, and  Moral  Vigor. — Christianity  appeared  in  these 
Hellenized  cities  of  Asia  Minor  as  a  new  social  force,  quite 
different  from  anything  that  had  preceded.  The  con- 
quests of  Alexander  had  produced  a  social  revolution  of  the 
political,  commercial,  and  religious  interests  of  the  coun- 
try. The  Roman  occupation  had  opened  up  new  and  im- 
pressive political  vistas,  introduced  ordered  government, 
and  opened  highways  of  trade.  But  both  Greek  and  Roman 
had  come  to  exploit  the  native  population  to  the  advantage 
of  the  foreigner.  The  Christian  missionaries  were  a  new  race 
socially.  They  came  in  the  interests  of  the  people.  It  was 
the  unselfish  interest  of  the  Christian  propagandist,  the 
spiritual  certainty  of  his  religion,  the  moral  vigor  of  his  life, 
which  appealed  to  these  provincial  cities.  It  was  a  vastly 
significant  Kingdom  movement  when  these  rich  commer- 
cial cities  of  Asia,  with  their  deeply  intrenched  pagan  reli- 
gions, were  invaded  by  the  gospel  of  Christ.  No  march  of 
Alexander's  veterans  or  of  the  imperial  legions  could  com- 
pare in  social  value  with  the  pastorate  of  a  Paul  or  the 
bishopric  of  a  John. 

To  THE  Angel  of  Any  Church 

Every  Church  Has  Its  Angel. — There  is  always  a  little 
group  in  every  church  who  make  the  sacrifices,  bear  the 
burdens,  carry  upon  their  hearts  the  spiritual  problems, 
pour  out  the  prayers,  have  the  social  vision,  know  the 
Christ,  and  are  impelled  by  the  evangelistic  passion.  These 
are  the  angels  of  your  church.  It  is  this  company,  the  heart 
and  soul  of  the  church,  which  gives  the  church  its  quality 
and  its  power.  It  is  this  inner  circle  which  lives  in  fellow- 
ship with  God  and  which  is  the  channel  of  divine  life  into  a 
spiritually  indifferent  world. 

Anonymous  Workers. — Few  builders  of  those  churches 
of  Asia  Minor  are  known  to  us.    Some  of  the  world's  best 

122 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA  MINOR 

work  is  anonymous.  Who  was  the  author  of  this  saying  or 
that?  Who  wrote  the  admonitions  which  we  quote? 
Whose  hands  dragged  into  position  the  great  stones 
of  the  pyramids  ?  Whose  chisel  created  the  "Winged  Vic- 
tory" of  Samothrace  ?  What  soldiers  fell  at  Marston  Moor 
and  suffered  at  Valley  Forge  ?  Truly  creative  work  is  done 
when  fame  is  forgotten,  and  the  cause  is  all. 

Conflict  and  Triumph. — Do  not  think  that  your  church 
can  triumph  apart  from  conflict.  If  your  church  meets 
with  no  antagonism  from  the  organized  evil  of  your  com- 
munity, it  is  because  you  are  fighting  no  battles  for  social 
justice,  civic  purity,  and  communal  righteousness.  The 
kingdom  of  God  is  not  flashed  into  the  world  like  a  June 
morning;  it  comes  through  unceasing  antagonism  of  all 
that  is  petty  and  mean  in  human  affairs.  Is  your  church 
small-minded  enough  to  be  cursed  by  factions?  Covetous- 
ness,  envy,  and  jealousy  are  the  marks  of  feeble  minds. 
Be  strong-minded;  strengthen  your  souls  in  combat  with 
evil ;  take  up  a  heroic  attitude  to  life. 

What  Saith  the  Spirit? — The  angel  of  any  church  must 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches.  God  has  not 
lost  his  voice;  he  still  speaks  to  those  who  will  hear  him. 
A  living  faith  is  a  faith  fed  by  continual  communica- 
tions within  the  soul.  The  vital  source  of  social  vision  and 
activity  is  a  new  revelation  of  God  within  the  soul  of  lis- 
tening men.  Learn  to  recognize  the  voice  of  God.  Choose 
goodness,  follow  truth,  practice  justice.  Keep  your  heart 
tender  toward  misfortune  and  you  will  meet  with  God: 
He  is  also  working  at  these  things.  Expect  to  meet  him  in 
these  common  paths  of  duty,  service,  and  love,  and  you 
will  marvel  presently  at  the  intimacy  of  your  fellowship 
with  God.    Begin  to  meet  him  to-day ! 

Suggestions  for   Class  Discussion" 

1.  What  are  the  geographical  relationships  of  Cappadocia 
and  Pamphylia?  Bithynia  and  Ephesus?  Lycia  and  Smyrna? 
Sardis  and  Per'gamum?  Philadelphia  and  Thyatira?  Lao- 
dicea  and  Hierapolis?    Colossse  and  Magnesia  and  Tralles? 

2.  Under  what  governmental  divisions  was  Asia  Minor 
ruled  by  the  Romans? 

123 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

3.  In  which  province  were  the  seven  churches  addressed 
in  Revelation? 

4.  Locate  the  cities  in  which  Paul  preached;  John;  Philip; 
Peter. 

5.  In  what  way  did  the  emperor  worship  of  Asia  Minor 
handicap  the  progress  of  Christianity? 

6.  Why  was  it  difllcult  to  establish  Christian  churches  in 
centers  where  Asclepius  and  Leta  were  worshiped? 

7.  What  social  and  political  barriers  were  naturally  raised 
by  pagan  society  against  Christianity? 

8.  State  the  most  diflQcult  conditions  over  which  Chris- 
tianity was  obliged  to  triumph. 

9.  What  new  permanent  values  did  Christianity  bring  to 
pagan   society? 

10.  In  what  way  did  persecution  affect  Christianity? 

11.  Discuss  the  social  value  of  unselfish  interest,  spiritual 
certainty,  and  moral  vigor. 

12.  To  what  extent  was  the  life  of  a  city  like  Ephesus 
changed  by  the  Christian  church  established  there? 

Reading  References 

The  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches,  Ramsay,  Chapters  XIV- 
XXX. 

The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity,  Harnack,  Vol- 
ume II,  pages  180-229. 

The  Church  of  the  Apostles,  Ragg,  pages  122-61. 


124 


CHAPTEE  X 

CHRISTIAN   LITERATURE   IN  THE   APOSTOLIC 

AGE 

The  development  of  a  Christian  literature  was  neces- 
sitated by  two  facts:  Those  who  had  seen  Jesus  and  were 
firsthand  witnesses  of  the  beginnings  of  Christianity  grad- 
ually passed  away.  These  men  and  women  were  the  pri- 
mary authorities  not  only  for  the  earthly  ministry  of  Jesus 
but  also  for  the  contents  of  the  early  gospel  message.  With 
their  death,  written  documents  were  needed  to  preserve  the 
substance  of  their  preaching.  Then,  as  with  Paul  and,  no 
doubt,  with  many  of  the  Twelve,  the  places  in  which  the 
gospel  was  proclaimed  became  so  numerous  that  the  apostle 
needed  to  supplement  his  spoken  words  with  the  written 
message. 

The  Letters  of  Paul 

Written  Direction  and  Counsel  Becomes  Necessary. — 

Christianity  began  without  written  records.  The  "Scrip- 
tures" for  Jesus  and  for  the  apostles  were  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Behind  the  whole  of  our  New  Testament  lies  an  age 
when  Christian  leaders  were  not  thinking  of  writing  books 
about  Christ;  their  sole  concern  was  to  herald  far  and  wide 
the  new  life  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  the  life  and 
death  of  Jesus  had  made  possible.  It  was  the  Messiah, 
the  Messianic  kingdom,  and  the  Messianic  salvation  which 
were  on  the  lips  of  the  first  heralds  of  the  gospel.  During 
this  active  period  of  envangelization  no  need  was  felt  for  a 
written  gospel  or  for  any  written  directions  or  counsels  for 
the  churches. 

Paul's  First  Letter:  1  Thessalonians.— This  letter  has  a 
unique  place  in  the  world's  literature.  It  stands  at  the 
beginning  of  the  vast  multitude  of  writings  which  Chris- 
tianity has  called  into  being.    It  is  PauPs  first  letter  and 

125 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

it  is  the  beginning  of  the  world's  Christian  literature.  It 
is  impossible  now  to  date  with  certainty  the  events  of  PauFs 
life.  Between  his  visit  to  Thessalonica  and  his  martyr- 
dom in  Rome  were  eleven  or  twelve  years,  during  which 
all  his  letters  were  written.  These  years  of  travel  and  im- 
prisonment must  be  placed  between  a.  d.  47  and  64.  Acts 
17.  1-15  gives  an  account  of  Paul's  visit  to  Thessalonica 
and  subsequent  incidents  until  his  arrival  in  Athens.  From 
1  Thessalonians  3.  1  note  what  induced  Paul  to  send  Timo- 
thy back  to  Thessalonica.  Upon  Timothy's  return  to  Paul, 
who  in  the  meanwhile  had  gone  to  Corinth,  the  first  letter 
was  written.  It  is  important  to  realize  the  manner  in 
which  the  literature  of  the  New  Testament  came  into  exist- 
ence. This  letter  to  the  church  at  Thessalonica  is  typical 
of  the  manner  of  the  origin  of  all  of  Paul's  Epistles.  Read 
1  Thessalonians  carefully  and  determine  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible what  conditions  at  Thessalonica  made  this  written 
communication  seem  necessary  to  Paul.  Examine  1.  2-5; 
3.  1-13  and  consider  whether  or  not  Paul  is  trying  to 
encourage  the  Thessalonians  by  revealing  his  own  deep 
interest  in  all  their  trials.  To  what  extent  would  his  com- 
mendation of  their  faith  and  missionary  activity  (1.  6-10) 
tend  to  strengthen  their  Christian  character?  Consider 
whether  or  not  this  general  purpose  to  encourage  this 
church  struggling  with  so  many  difficulties  would  be  for- 
warded by  Paul's  statement  (2.  13-16)  that  persecution 
is  the  common  lot  of  all  Christians.  In  addition  to  this 
attempt  to  encourage  his  converts  Paul  defends  himself 
from  Judaizers  (2.  1-12).  A  third  object  of  this  letter 
appears  in  4.  1-12;  5.  12-28,  wherein  the  newly  won  con- 
verts from  paganism  are  again  instructed  in  Christian 
morality.  Perhaps  the  chief  object  of  this  letter  is  to  be 
found  in  4.  13  to  5.  11.  State  what  had  become  an  object 
of  concern  among  the  Christian  community  at  Thessa- 
lonica and  the  manner  in  which  Paul  seeks  to  set  their 
fears  at  rest.  Note  the  special  injunction  in  5.  27.  The 
need  of  the  church  that  called  forth  1  Thessalonians — 
namely,  the  need  of  additional  counsel  on  the  part  of  a 
Christian  community  in  its  first  faith  and  first  encounter 

126 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

with  its  pagan  environment — typically  illustrates  the  origin 
of  our  New-Testament  literature.  Second  Thessalonians, 
written  not  many  months  after  1  Thessalonians,  also  was 
written  at  Corinth.    Its  main  object  may  be  learned  from 

2.  1-12.  PauFs  teaching  concerning  the  second  advent 
of  the  Messiah  had  been  misunderstood  and  was  working 
harm  in  the  church.  This  letter  was  written  primarily 
to  correct  the  evil  influences  of  this  misunderstanding. 

The  Letter  to  the  Galatians. — Most  probably  Galatians 
was  the  next  of  Paul's  letters  to  be  written  and  seems  also 
to  have  been  dispatched  from  Corinth.  The  readers  of 
this  letter  undoubtedly  were  the  churches  established  by 
Paul  and  Silas  during  their  first  missionary  tour  through 
southern  Galatia.  Earlier  chapters  of  this  book  have 
shown  that  Paul  was  dogged  by  Jewish  Christians,  who 
insisted  that  all  Christians  must  keep  the  Jewish  law. 
These  Judaizers  had  come  among  the   Galatians    (1.   6; 

3.  1;  4,  21;  5.  7)  and  were  inducing  them  to  become  cir- 
cumcised and  subject  to  Jewish  law.  This  letter  sprang 
out  of  the  deep  love  of  Paul  for  these  Gentile  churches  and 
his  concern,  intensified  into  agony,  lest  the  Judaizers  should 
undo  his  labors  in  Galatia. 

1  and  2  Corinthians. — These  come  next  of  the  extant 
Pauline  letters.  Four  letters  appear  to  have  been  written 
by  Paul  to  the  church  at  Corinth.  The  first  of  these  is 
referred  to  in  1  Corinthians  5.  9.  It  is  believed  by  many 
that  2  Corinthians  6.  14  to  7.  1  is  a  fragment  of  this  lost 
letter.  Our  present  1  Corinthians  is  PauFs  second  letter  to 
the  church  where  he  labored  so  many  months.  Tidings  of 
certain  disorders  came  to  Paul  at  Ephesus  (1  Corinthians 
1.  11)  and  certain  questions  had  been  put  to  Paul  by  the 
Corinthian  church  (1  Corinthians  7.  1).  In  this  letter 
Paul  answers  these  questions  and  seeks  to  correct  the  dis- 
orders. Affairs  became  worse  rather  than  better.  Paul 
made  a  brief  visit  to  Corinth  but  was  able  to  accomplish 
little  in  disciplining  the  church.  Judaizers  in  the  mean- 
time, arriving  at  Corinth,  made  matters  worse  (2  Corin- 
thians 3.  1).  In  the  midst  of  discouragement  and  affliction 
he  sent  a  third  letter  to  the  Corinthians   (2  Corinthians 

127 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

2.  4;  7.  8).  There  is  much  reason  to  believe  that  this  third 
letter  is  chapters  10  to  18  of  2  Corinthians.  This  third 
letter  seems  to  have  restored  order  in  the  Corinthian 
church  (2  Corinthians  7.  8-16).  Later,  driven  out  of 
Ephesus  by  the  riot,  Paul  journeyed  by  way  of  Troas  and 
Macedonia  toward  Corinth.  Somewhere  on  the  way  he  was 
met  by  Titus  (2  Corinthians  2.  13;  7.  13),  who  informed 
him  of  the  changed  conditions  at  Corinth.  Comforted  and 
rejoicing,  Paul  wrote  his  fourth  letter  to  Corinth.  This 
final  letter  is  our  2  Corinthians,  with  the  possible  excep- 
tions noted  above. 

The  Letter  to  the  Romans. — Read  again  what  is  said  in 
Chapter  VIII  under  the  caption  "The  Letter  to  the  Roman 
Church."  State  where  this  letter  was  written.  What  pur- 
pose moved  Paul  to  write  to  the  Christians  of  Rome  ?  See 
Romans  1.  11;  15.  15,  16.  What  were  some  of  the  prob- 
lems of  the  Roman  church  which  Paul  endeavored  to  solve  ? 

Letters  Written  From  Rome. — Philemon,  Colossians,  and 
Ephesians  were  written  not  many  months  after  Paul's  ar- 
rival in  Rome.  Onesimus,  a  runaway  slave  from  Colossse, 
had  been  won  to  Christianity  in  Rome  and  was  being  sent 
back  by  Paul  to  his  master  Philemon.  Paul  writes  Phile- 
mon to  receive  his  Christian  slave  as  a  brother.  This  short 
letter  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  missives  that  Chris- 
tianity ever  has  produced.  Tychicus,  also  of  Asia,  makes 
the  journey  home  with  Onesimus.  Paul  sends  with  them  a 
letter  to  the  church  of  Colossse.  From  Colossians  2.  8-23 
it  seems  that  the  chief  reason  for  this  Epistle  was  the 
appearance  within  the  Colossian  church  of  some  new  teach- 
ing and  beliefs  that  threatened  the  accepted  faith  in  Christ. 
It  appears  that  this  new  doctrine  claimed  the  dignity  of  a 
^*^philosophy''  (Colossians  2.  8)  ;  that  it  had  distinct  Jewish 
elements  (2.  16;  3.  11);  that  it  involved  the  worship  of 
angels  (2.  18) ;  and  that  it  urged  a  false  asceticism  (2.  20- 
23).  After  condemning  such  teachings  Paul  emphasizes 
the  conduct  becoming  the  Christian.  Ephesians  was  not 
called  forth  by  any  special  or  urgent  need  of  the  churches. 
It  was  a  general  treatise  upon  the  unity  of  the  church — 
great  enough  for  Jew  and  Gentile — and  a  faithful  urging 

128 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

of  loyalty  on  the  part  of  Gentile  Christians  lest  they  fall 
back  again  into  their  former  pagan  life.  Philippians  also 
was  written  by  Paul  at  Rome.  The  church  at  Philippi 
was  unusually  dear  to  Paul.  It  was  the  first  church  to  be 
founded  in  answer  to  the  vision  that  had  summoned  him 
into  Macedonia.  It  was  not  a  wealthy  church  but  it  had 
given  freely  to  the  Jerusalem  poor  fund  (2  Corinthians 
8.  2,  3).  With  this  church  only  had  Paul  broken  his  rule 
of  self-support.  Twice  had  they  sent  funds  to  him  at 
Thessalonica  (Philippians  4.  16) ;  they  ministered  to  him 
also  in  Corinth  (2  Corinthians  11.  9) ;  and,  finally,  when 
in  Rome  and  in  want,  the  brethren  of  Philippi  sent 
Epaphroditus  (Philippians  4.  10,  18)  to  relieve  the  need  of 
their  dear  friend  and  minister.  It  was  this  beautiful, 
thoughtful  generosity  in  his  time  of  need  which  led  Paul 
to  send  this  love  letter  to  this  favorite  church. 

1  Peter 

A  Letter  of  Comfort,  Encouragement,  and  Warning. — 

Examine  1  Peter  1.  1  for  the  destination  of  this  Epistle. 
Read  1  Peter  1.  6,  7;  3.  14,  16,  17;  4.  1,  12,  19;  5.  9,  10 
and  note  that  Christians  rather  generally  are  feeling  the 
weight  of  Roman  official  antagonism.  In  addition  to  this 
evident  purpose  to  comfort  and  strengthen  the  afflicted 
Christians  the  Epistle  warns  the  churches  against  a  possi- 
ble relapse  into  paganism  and  reminds  them  (4.  7)  that 
the  advent  of  Christ  is  near  at  hand.  This  letter  probably 
was  written  from  Rome  by  Peter  at  the  very  end  of  his 
life. 

The  Synoptic  Gospels 

The  Needs  of  the  Gentile  Church  Brought  Christian  Lit- 
erature Into  Existence. — The  foregoing  studies  indicate 
that  it  was  the  needs  of  the  Gentile  churches  which  brought 
the  first  Christian  literature  into  existence.  But  the  Jew- 
ish Christian  communities  also  had  their  problems  and 
wants,  and  these  too  were  met  by  the  production  of  Chris- 
tian writings.  Reread  what  is  said  in  Chapter  I  under 
the  caption  "The  Task  of  the  Disciples."    Examine  also  the 

129 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

reference  in  Peter's  sermon  (Acts  2.  22)  to  the  earthly  life 
of  Jesus.  As  this  gospel  spread  in  new  Jewish  communi- 
ties, as  a  second  generation  of  believers  were  brought  into 
the  church,  and  the  apostles  themselves  were  scattered, 
grown  old,  or  deceased,  the  need  was  felt  for  a  permanent 
record  of  the  chief  sayings  and  deeds  of  Jesus.  There  was 
more  than  one  effort  to  supply  this  need  (Luke  1.  1). 

The  Earliest  Written  Gospel. — Among  the  most  careful 
students  of  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  the  agreement  is 
general  that  the  most  important  source  for  the  authors 
of  Matthew  and  Luke  was  the  Gospel  According  to 
St.  Mark.i  It  is  almost  universally  recognized  that 
there  was  a  second  source  common  to  Luke  and  Mat- 
thew. This  earlier  source  is  known  as  the  Logia  of  Saint 
Matthew.  It  is  designated  also  by  the  letter  "Q."  This 
is  the  earliest  written  Gospel  now  in  existence.  However, 
this  book,  which  was  a  collection  of  the  sayings  of  Jesus 
and  undoubtedly  written  by  the  Apostle  Matthew,  no 
longer  exists  independently.  What  remains  of  it  is  incor- 
porated in  the  Gospels  of  Matthew  and  Luke.  This  Gospel, 
which  emphasizes  Jesus  as  a  great  Teacher  and  Prophet, 
was  written  in  Aramaic  and  was  known  among  Jewish 
Christians  at  least  as  early  as  the  last  years  of  Paul. 

The  Gospel  According  to  Mark. — Examine  the  prologue 
of  the  Gospel  According  to  St.  Luke.  Observe  in  verse 
three  that  the  author  of  this  Gospel  commends  his  own  work 
in  two  particulars — namely:  he  narrates  the  life  of  Jesus 
from  its  beginnings  and  he  arranges  his  material  in  chrono- 
logical order.  Consider  whether  or  not  Luke's  reference 
to  the  numerous  Gospel  writers  who  preceded  him  included 
Mark.  Reexamine  what  is  said  under  the  preceding  topic 
concerning  Luke's  use  of  Mark.  The  next  reference  to 
Mark  in  extant  Christian  literature  is  a  statement  of 
Papias,  bishop  of  Hieropolis,  who  held  many  conversations 
with  persons  who  had  known  intimately  the  twelve  apostles : 
"Mark,  having  become  the  interpreter  of  Peter,  wrote 
down  accurately,  though  not  indeed  in  order,  whatsoever 

1  See  Luke,  the  Physician,  Ramsay,  page  73;  A  Dictionary  of  the  Gospels,  Haatings, 
Volume  II,  page  86;  The  Apostolic  Age,  McGiffert,  page  574;  etc. 

130 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

of  the  things  said  or  done  by  Christ.  ...  He  was  careful 
of  one  thing:  not  to  omit  any  of  the  things  which  he  had 
heard  and  not  to  state  them  falsely .'^^  jt  is  probable  that 
this  Gospel  was  written  at  Rome  and  was  intended  pri- 
marily for  Gentile  readers.  It  seems  certain  that  Mark  was 
■unacquainted  with  the  early  Gospel  described  above.  The 
Gospel  of  Mark  certainly  was  in  circulation  before  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  in  a.  d.  70. 

The  Gospel  According  to  Matthew. — Reread  what  is  said 
above  concerning  the  earliest  Gospel  and  the  Gospel  of 
Mark.  Seven  eighths  of  Matthew  are  drawn  from  the 
Logia  and  ^lark.  The  aim  of  this  Gospel  is  to  show  that 
Jesus  from  his  birth  to  his  ascension  fulfills  the  Old-Testa- 
ment conditions  of  Israel's  Messiah.  Note  especially  this 
Gospel's  method  of  emphasizing  events  in  the  life  of  Jesus 
by  seeing  in  them  fulfilled  predictions  of  Old-Testament 
prophets  (1.  23;  2.  5,  15;  etc.).  This  Gospel  evidently  was 
written  by  a  Jewish  Christian  to  further  the  need  of 
early  Jewish  Christianity,  expressed,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  Peter's  sermon  at  Pentecost.  The  name  of  ^lat- 
thew  became  attached  to  this  Gospel,  no  doubt,  from  the 
fact  that  it  used  the  Logia  (or  the  earliest  Gospel,  described 
above  which  was  written  by  Matthew),  and  used  it  in  a  way 
that  made  this  material  prominent. 

This  Gospel  was  written  not  long  after  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  Examine  2-i.  3-5  and  observe  that  the  author 
conceives  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  ''the  end 
of  the  world"  are  closely  related  events.  Note  also  that 
24.  6-28  deals  with  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Then, 
24.  29,  which  begins  the  description  of  the  "end  of  the 
world,"  dates  this  second  event  in  close  sequence  with  the 
destruction  of  the  city.  It  was  difficult  for  a  Jewish  Chris- 
tian to  conceive  of  an  enduring  social  order  apart  from  the 
existence  of  his  nation  and  his  Holy  City.  This  Gospel 
thus  reflects  the  hopes  and  beliefs  of  Jewish  Christianity 
after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  had  broken  down  the 
more  liberal  elements  of  the  Jewish  Christian  world. 


« ChuTch  History,  Eusebiua,  Book  III,  Chapter  XXXIX. 

131 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

The  Gospel  According  to  Luke. — The  Logia  of  Matthew 
and  the  Gospel  of  Mark  are  the  principal  sources  for  more 
than  three  fourths  of  Luke.  Two  general  purposes  moved 
Luke  in  the  composition  of  his  Gospel:  (1)  One  is  stated 
in  the  prologue — namely :  he  desired  to  place  the  materials 
already  at  hand  for  a  life  of  Jesus  in  chronological  order. 
He  does  not  use  his  material  taken  from  the  Logia,  as  did 
the  author  of  Matthew,  largely  in  bulk,  but  he  breaks  it  up 
and  seeks  to  place  the  sayings  of  Jesus  in  appropriate  his- 
torical settings.  (2)  The  other  motive  was  to  make  his 
historical  narrative  a  universal  Gospel.  This  purpose  was 
not  so  apparent  in  Mark,  and  Matthew  was  written  pri- 
marily for  Jewish  Christians.  Luke  writes  especially  for 
the  Gentile  world.  For  this  reason  he  stresses  the  teaching 
that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  open  to  all.  Examine  2.  32; 
3.  6;  4.  26,  27;  7.  9;  13.  29  and  similar  passages  that  indi- 
cate the  range  of  his  Gentile  sympathies.  Consider  too 
that  the  teaching  and  incidents  in  7.  36-50;  10.  30-37; 
15.  11-32;  17.  11-19;  18.  1-8;  23.  39-43,  not  found  in  the 
other  Gospels,  reveal  Luke's  sympathy  with  all  classes  and 
his  special  interest  in  words  and  deeds  of  Jesus  in  connec- 
tion with  the  poor,  the  friendless,  the  outcast,  women,  and 
non-Jewish  peoples. 

Luke  was  written  still  later  than  Matthew.  Observe 
the  manner  in  which  he  treats  the  topics  of  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  and  the  end  of  the  world.  Luke  21.  20-24, 
which  describes  the  destruction  of  the  city,  is  clearly  differ- 
entiated from  20.  25-36,  which  discusses  the  second  advent 
of  the  Messiah.  The  coming  of  the  Messiah  is  not  made 
coincident  with  or  closely  related  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  fall  of  the  Jewish  nation.  This  time 
indication  alone  is  sufficient  to  date  this  Gospel  some  years 
after  a.  d.  70,  probably  between  70  and  80.  The  place  of 
composition  is  unknown. 

Acts  of  the  Apostles 

Date  and  Sources. — While  this  Christian  writing  may 
have  been  produced  at  any  time  between  a.  d.  70  and  100, 
the  most  probable  date  lies  between  75  and  90.    The  author 

132 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

of  the  third  Gospel  was  the  author  of  Acts  also.  While 
Luke  seems  to  have  composed  his  account  of  the  spread  of 
Christianity  late  in  the  century,  it  is  generally  understood 
that  he  used  earlier  written  sources  for  his  history.  Such 
sections  as  Acts  16.  10-17;  20.  5-16;  21.  1-18;  27.  1;  28.  16 
must  have  been  written  by  him  contemporaneously  with  the 
events  described.  But  this  exceedingly  valuable  historical 
material  probably  remained  in  his  diary  unpublished  until 
it  found  a  place  in  Acts.  Other  written  sources  were  used 
in  the  first  chapters  of  his  book.  No  doubt  the  accounts  of 
Pentecost,  Peter's  preaching,  and  subsequent  events  in 
Jerusalem  were  recorded  in  writing  by  eyewitnesses;  and 
such  writings,  like  the  numerous  Gospels,  were  in  circula- 
tion in  the  early  church. 

Motives  for  Writing  Acts. — At  least  two  leading  motives 
led  to  the  writing  and  publication  of  Acts:  (1)  It  was 
desired  to  present  a  sketch  of  the  development  of  Chris- 
tianity, especially  in  its  movements  across  the  boundaries 
of  Judea  and  Judaism  into  the  Roman  world.  The  author's 
interest  centers  in  Paul,  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles. 
(2)  A  second  motive,  though  not  so  dominant,  is  seen  in 
Luke's  desire  to  show  that  Christianity,  in  its  progress 
through  the  provinces  of  the  empire,  was  not  antagonistic  to 
Roman  rule  (examine  Acts  13.  12;  16.  35-39;  18.  12-17; 
19.  31,  35-41;  21.  37-40;  22.  25-29;  23.  29;  25.  18,  25; 
26.  31).  Recall  also  the  manner  in  which  the  book  of  Acts 
ends.  Examine  2  Corinthians  11.  25  and  state  Paul's  own 
testimony  concerning  his  treatment  by  the  Roman  authori- 
ties. Luke's  endeavor  to  set  Christianity  in  the  most  favor- 
able light  undoubtedly  was  due  to  the  fact  that,  at  the 
time  he  wrote,  the  new  religion  was  looked  upon  with  dis- 
favor and  was  provoking  hostility  on  the  part  of  Roman 
authorities. 

The  Pastoral  Epistles 

1  and  2  Timothy  and  Titus. — The  authorship  and  date 
of  1  and  2  Timothy  and  Titus  are  moot  questions.  The 
question  of  the  Pauline  authorship  seems  bound  up  with  the 
problem  whether  or  not  the  imprisonment  of  Paul,  with 

133 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

which  the  book  of  Acts  ends,  terminated  in  release  or 
death.  The  evidence  for  such  release  is  slight  and,  for 
many,  unconvincing.  It  is  thought  too  that  certain  heret- 
ical tendencies  which  these  Epistles  oppose  did  not  dis- 
turb the  church  in  the  days  of  Paul.  There  appears  also 
an  ecclesiastical  organization  considerably  more  developed 
than  appears  elsewhere  in  the  acknowledged  letters  of  Paul. 
Examine  Titus  1.  7;  1  Timothy  3.  2-10;  and  these  letters 
generally  for  evidences  of  the  developing  episcopacy.  Sec- 
ond Timothy  and  Titus,  however,  it  is  commonly  agreed, 
used  genuine,  Pauline-written  sources. 

The  Gospel  of  John 

Authorship,  Date,  and  Purpose. — The  Gospel  of  John 
was  the  last  written  of  the  four  in  the  New  Testament  and 
is  usually  assigned  to  the  Apostle  John  and  believed  to  have 
been  produced  by  him  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  during 
his  Ephesian  residence.  During  the  long  life  of  this  apostle 
many  changes  occurred  in  the  church.  Although  the 
Judaistic  controversy  was  largely  an  issue  of  the  past,  the 
Jews  remained  bitterly  hostile  to  the  Christians.  Perse- 
cution by  Roman  authorities  was  beginning  to  mold  the 
individual  churches  into  a  consciousness  of  unity.  The  let- 
ters of  Paul  and  the  earlier  Gospels  were  furnishing  mate- 
rials for  theological  discussions  in  regard  to  the  funda- 
mentals of  Christianity.  Heresy  was  beginning  to  speak 
with  loud  voice.  In  such  conditions  the  need  was  felt  for 
a  new  and  different  presentation  of  the  life  and  work  of 
Jesus.  Observe  the  twofold  purpose  of  this  Gospel,  stated 
in  20.  30,  31.  Note  that  the  author  does  not  claim  to  have 
written  a  biography  of  Jesus;  on  the  contrary,  he  states 
that  many  incidents  that  should  have  a  place  in  a  life  of 
Jesus  are  here  omitted.  He  selects  certain  ^^signs"  out 
of  many  to  prove  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah.  However,  the 
author  holds  a  conception  of  the  Messiah  different  from 
that  which  appears  in  Acts  2.  22  or  even  in  Matthew. 
Read  John  1.  1-5,  14,  18,  in  connection  with  20.  31,  and 
consider  whether  or  not  the  purpose  of  this  book  is  to 
show  that  Jesus  as  Messiah  is  more  than  a  human  being: 

134 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

he  is  a  preexisteiit  heavenly  Being  who  came  to  earth  from 
God  and  who,  after  a  brief  life,  returned  to  God. 

Other  New-Testament  Writings 

James,  Jude,  and  2  Peter. — These  Epistles  are  discussed 
in  Chapter  V.  Many  problems  may  be  raised  concerning 
purpose,  date,  and  authorship;  but  the  position  taken  in 
the  earlier  lesson  seems  the  most  tenable. 

The  Letter  to  the  Hebrews. — Reexamine  what  is  said  of 
this  book  in  Chapter  VII.  The  date,  authorship,  and 
destination  of  this  book  are  uncertain.  That  it  was  written 
to  the  church  in  Rome  between  the  years  A.  D.  70  and  96 
and  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  a  comparatively  small 
group  of  leaders  of  the  Roman  church,  dismayed  and  suf- 
fering from  the  Neronian  persecutions,  seems  probable. 

1,  2,  and  3  John  and  Revelation. — These  writings 
most  probably  were  written  in  the  last  years  of  the  apos- 
tolic age.  They  were  intended  to  check  certain  heretical 
opinions  that  appeared  in  the  churches  of  Asia  in  the  latter 
quarter  of  the  first  century.  Revelation  was  written  with 
the  further  purpose  of  encouraging  the  churches  to  endure 
the  persecution  of  the  imperial  authorities  under  Domitian, 
A.  D.  81-96.  These  writings  will  be  examined  more  in  de- 
tail in  Chapter  XII. 

Outside  the  Canon 

There  are  indications  in  the  New  Testament  that  early 
Christian  literature  was  more  abundant  than  that  which 
survives  in  our  New-Testament  canonical  Scriptures.  Ex- 
amine Luke  1.  1;  1  Corinthians  7.  1;  5.  9;  Colossians  4.  16, 
for  evidences  of  lost  Christian  writings.  No  doubt  large 
numbers  of  letters  and  tracts  were  produced  by  first-cen- 
tury Christianity  which,  by  accident  or  lack  of  merit, 
have  not  survived.  There  are  extant  three  Christian  writ- 
ings that  did  not  find  their  way  into  the  canon  but  which 
are  of  importance  in  the  understanding  of  the  apostolic  age. 
Two  of  these  already  have  been  used  in  these  studies. 
The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  is  discussed  in  Chap- 
ter Y.    The  Epistle  of  Barnal)as  was  written  probably  at 

135 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

Alexandria  between  A.  D.  70  and  80.  It  is  a  pastoral  letter 
breathing  moral  earnestness  and  a  deeply  spiritual  life. 
The  Epistle  of  Clement  was  written  by  the  bishop  of  the 
Roman  church  to  the  church  of  Corinth  about  96  and 
was  intended  to  heal  the  factions  which  had  broken  out 
among  the  Christians  at  Corinth. 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  most  striking  result  of  a  survey  of  the  rise  of  New 
Testament  literature  is  the  fact  that  Christianity  did  not 
spring  from  the  New  Testament.  The  Bible  has  been  in 
use  so  long  as  the  chief  ground  of  appeal  for  the  reality 
and  truth  of  the  Christian  experience  that  it  is  often  dif- 
ficult to  imagine  an  age  when  this  was  not  the  case.  The 
New  Testament  is  one  of  the  products  of  Christianity.  It 
is  a  literary  expression  of  the  religious  conscious- 
ness of  the  apostolic  age.  Primarily  these  writ- 
ings did  not  create  this  new  religious  experience.  They 
tended  to  make  the  religious  consciousness  of  Christian 
leaders  the  standard  religious  experience  of  Christian  com- 
munities and  in  this  manner  alone  contributed  to  the 
creation  of  apostolic  Christianity. 

The  facts  just  stated  should  enable  us  to  make  the  best 
use  of  the  New  Testament  to-day.  We  must  see  in  these 
writings  not  a  final  presentation  of  the  Christian  conscious- 
ness but  a  rich  and  noteworthy  exhibit  of  the  Christian 
experience  in  the  years  of  an  extraordinarily  quickened 
spiritual  age.  The  Christian  consciousness  opened  glori- 
ously in  Jesus  Christ.  He  revealed  the  Christian  life  in 
its  fullness  of  spiritual  vision,  social  feeling,  and  filial 
affection.  What  we  realize  partially  and  at  intervals  was 
with  him  a  full  and  permanent  possession.  In  immediate 
contact  with  his  glorious  life  the  first  disciples  were  stirred 
unto  heights  of  spiritual  living  such  as  seldom  have  been 
repeated.  It  was  from  these  spiritual  heights  that  this  New 
Testament  literature  has  sprung.  If  these  apostolic  writ- 
ings are  to  have  more  than  historical  value  they  must  stir 
us  to  climb  the  heights  for  ourselves.  A  living  church 
ever  will  be  creating  a  Christian  literature.    The  apostolic 

136 


CHKISTIAN  LITERATUEE 

writings,  aside  from  their  measureless  value  in  preserving 
an  account  of  the  beginnings  of  Christianity,  should  find 
their  justification  in  the  measure  in  which  they  inspire  new 
epochs  of  religion  and  indicate  that  all  such  new  ages,  as 
one  of  their  expressions,  must  give  their  visions,  beliefs, 
and  triumphs  literary  form. 

The  Luee  of  Books 

What  Do  You  Read? — To  know  a  few  great  books  in- 
timately is  an  essential  test  of  a  cultured  life.  He  who 
hears  above  the  sensual,  materialistic,  hurried  clamor  of 
the  hour  the  call  of  even  a  small  library  of  the  works  of  the 
masters  is  secure  against  a  thousand  ills.  When  shall  we 
learn  that  noble  thought  offers  an  escape  from  the  petty  and 
mean  in  human  affairs?  Above  the  lure  of  baseball,  golf, 
theater,  dinners,  business,  do  you  know  the  seductive  attrac- 
tion of  noble  literature  ?  Has  the  New  Testament  made  its 
appeal  to  you  as  an  imperishable  library  of  the  beginnings 
of  the  greatest  religious  and  social  movement  in  human 
history  ? 

The  New  Testament  Halos  the  Art  of  Letter  Writing. — 
The  great  art  of  letter  writing,  according  to  Sam  Weller,  is 
in  setting  the  reader  to  wish  there  was  more.  How  one 
wishes  that  we  had  a  letter  of  Paul  to  Christians  in  Athens 
and  Troas,  or  to  Peter  and  Mark  in  later  years !  How  we 
would  pore  over  the  letters  of  the  Twelve  written  to  tell 
us  of  their  separate  impressions  of  their  ]\Iaster!  Paul's 
letters  to  urge  a  Christian  master  to  receive  his  runaway 
slave,  to  comfort  those  who  grieved  for  their  dead,  to  ex- 
press his  gratitude  for  generous  gifts  from  friends,  to 
admonish  the  leaders  of  a  church  to  clear  themselves  from 
scandals,  and  to  strangers  about  their  common  inherit- 
ance in  Jesus  Christ — such  letters  have  forever  glorified 
the  art  of  correspondence. 

Do  Your  Present  Best. — The  one  way  of  accomplishing 
an  enduring  work  is  to  put  your  best  into  the  immediate 
task.  Paul  never  could  have  dreamed  that  his  little  letter 
to  Philemon  would  be  read  to-day  throughout  the  world. 
The  author  of  the  fourth   Gospel  never  could  have  im- 

137 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

agined  that  his  book  would  be  translated  into  all  the  lan- 
guages of  the  earth.  The  apostles  wrote  for  special,  imme- 
diate needs.  They  had  no  conception  of  a  sacred  canon. 
But  they  put  their- best  into  them.  They  were  seeking  to 
make  the  eternal  kingdom  of  God  a  living  thing  in  the  lives 
of  their  contemporaries.  This  is  the  one  safe  rule  to  give 
one's  deeds  immortality.  If  you  put  your  best  into  the 
immediate  occasions  of  life,  in  this  best  of  to-day  there 
will  be  elements  that  live  eternally. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  events  created  the  necessity  of  a  Christian  litera- 
ture in  the  early  church? 

2.  What  effect  did  the  expectation  of  an  early  return  of 
Christ  to  set  up  his  Kingdom  have  upon  the  development  of 
Christian  writings  in  the  apostolic  age? 

3.  Give  the  chronological  order  of  the  New-Testament 
Scriptures. 

4.  State  some  of  the  problems  that  caused  Paul  to  write 
to  the  church  at  Thessalonica;  at  Corinth;  at  Rome. 

5.  In  what  way  did  Paul's  imprisonment  influence  the  tone 
of  his  letters? 

6.  What  relation  do  the  four  Gospels  bear  to  one  another? 

7.  Discuss  the  authorship  and  date  of  Mark,  Matthew,  Luke, 
John. 

8.  Who  wrote  Acts,  and  what  was  his  purpose? 

9.  What  sources  of  materials  were  available  to  the  author 
of  Acts? 

10.  Why  is  the  life  and  work  of  one  man  emphasized  so 
greatly? 

11.  How  do  the  Epistles  help  us  to  understand  Acts  more 
fully? 

12.  State  what  you  know  about  1  and  2  Peter,  James,  Jude, 
Hebrews,  1,  2,  and  3  John,  and  Revelation. 

13.  What  is  the  present  value  of  The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles?  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas?  the  Epistle  of  Clement? 

14.  What  gaps  in  the  record  of  the  apostolic  church  does 
our  extant  literature  leave  unfilled? 

15.  In  what  sense  is  the  New  Testament  a  product  of 
Christianity? 

Refeeences  for  Reading 
Paul  and  His  Einstles,  Hayes,  pages  449-82. 
The  Apostolic  Age,  McGiffert,  pages  398-423. 
The  Church  of  the  Apostles,  Ragg,  pages  273-98. 
History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  I,  pages 
570-863. 

138 


CHAPTEE  XI 

CHUECH   OEGANIZATION   IN   THE   APOSTOLIC 

AGE 

At  the  beginning  of  the  gospel  preaching  there  was  no 
church;  at  the  close  of  the  century  churches  were  organ- 
ized in  every  place  where  the  gospel  of  Christ  had  got  a 
foothold.  It  is  not  easy  for  churchmen  to-day  to  imagine 
a  time  when  there  were  no  church  organizations  to  conduct 
the  evangelistic  and  missionary  enterprises  of  Christianity. 
To  think  of  Christianity  apart  from  churches  with  creeds, 
forms  of  worship,  rules,  settled  ministry,  councils,  edu- 
cational and  charitable  institutions,  requires  imagination. 
Yet  in  the  first  years  of  Christianity  there  were  few  or 
none  of  these. 

The  Christian  Ministry 

The  Missionary  Ministry. — During  the  earliest  years  the 
church  of  the  apostolic  age  was  without  a  settled  ministry. 
There  was  little  thought  of  church  organization.  The 
expected  early  return  of  Christ  precluded  the  felt  need  of 
a  formal  church  life.  Christianity  was  essentially  a  mis- 
sionary propaganda;  therefore,  the  first  ministers  of  the 
church  were  primarily  missionaries. 

(a)  Apostles. — Naturally  the  twelve  who  had  been 
trained  by  Jesus  became  the  first  preachers.  Examine 
Matthew  19.  28;  Luke  22.  28,  29  and  consider  the  impor- 
t-ant position  in  the  church  to  which  the  Twelve  believed 
their  relation  to  Jesus  assigned  them.  Eecall  from  pre- 
vious chapters  what  is  known  concerning  the  mission 
preaching  of  these  men  chosen  by  Jesus  to  carry  on  the 
work  of  building  up  the  Messianic  kingdom.  Eead  Gala- 
tians  1.  19;  2.  8-9;  1  Thessalonians  1.  1;  2.  6;  1  Corin- 
thians 4.  6-9;  Eomans  16.  7,  and  name  others  who  were 
apostles.    Eecall  what  is  known  of  these  men,  their  mes- 

139 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  EEFORMERS 

sages,  the  work  they  accomplished,  and  the  objects  for 
which  they  strove;  and  consider  whether  the  apostles  were 
not  primarily  missionaries,  who,  for  the  most  part  (Acts  1. 
22;  4.  33),  could  tell  at  firsthand  the  story  of  Christ's 
resurrection.  It  is  probable  that  the  apostles  were  quite 
numerous  in  the  apostolic  age,  and  that  later  generations 
came  to  restrict  the  name  to  the  Twelve  and  to  Paul. 

(h)  Prophets.— Read  Acts  2.  16,  17;  1  Corinthians  14. 
29-32,  and  consider  to  what  extent  prophecy  was  regarded 
as  a  permanent  and  universal  characteristic  of  the  Mes- 
sianic age  and  the  Messianic  people.  Note  especially  1  Cor- 
inthians 14.  24,  31,  39  and  state  the  measure  of  the 
prophetic  gift  in  the  Corinthian  church.  From  1  Corin- 
thians 14.  3,  24,  31  what  is  the  chief  function  of  prophecy 
according  to  Paul?  While  prophecy  seems  to  have  been 
common  in  the  apostolic  age,  there  were  individuals  in 
whom  the  gift  of  inspiration  was  so  clearly  manifested  that 
they  were  known  generally  as  prophets.  Examine  Acts 
16.  6,  7;  Galatians  2.  2;  1  Corinthians  7.  10,  11;  14.  37; 
Revelation  1.  1-3,  and  state  the  subjects  with  which 
prophecy  was  concerned.  Note  especially  Paul's  statement 
(2  Corinthians  12.  1-10)  of  the  large  place  which  revela- 
tions had  in  his  life  and,  consequently,  of  the  prophetic 
character  of  his  entire  ministry.  The  return  of  Christ 
and  the  prelude  of  the  Messianic  age  seem  to  have  been 
a  common  subject  of  the  prophets  of  the  apostolic  age. 
Note  how  largely  Paul  deals  with  this  subject  (1  Thessa- 
lonians  4.  13  to  5.  11;  2  Thessalonians  2.  1-12;  1  Corin- 
thians 15.  20-58).  Consider  also  the  fact  that  Revela- 
tion is  a  prophecy  of  things  ready  to  come  to  pass  (Revela- 
tion 22.  10).  The  prophets  usually  were  members  of  one 
church  and  confined  their  activities  to  their  own  congrega- 
tion. But  note  also  that,  like  the  apostles,  they  visited 
other  communities  (Acts  11.  27;  13.  2-4;  21.  10). 

(c)  Apparently  all  the  apostles  were  prophets. — The 
Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  (see  Chapter  V)  uses 
the  terms  "apostles"  and  "prophet"  interchangeably.  This 
very  interesting  Christian  document  indicates  a  very  active 
missionary  propaganda.     The  prophets  are  apostles — that 

140 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION 

is,  missionaries — and  the  church  expects  them  to  keep  ear- 
nestly at  their  itineraries.  The  honor  in  which  apostles 
and  prophets  were  held  offered  temptation  to  those  who 
exercised  the  missionary  office.  But  it  was  clearly  dis- 
cerned that  a  selfish,  mercenary,  hypocritical  life  was  not 
guided  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord. 

(d)  Teac/iers.— Read  Acts  13.  1;  1  Corinthians  12.  28; 
Ephesians  4.  11;  1  Timothy  2.  7,  and  consider  (1)  whether 
or  not  the  five  men  mentioned  were  both  prophets  and 
teachers;  (2)  whether  or  not  there  were  teachers  who  were 
neither  apostles  nor  prophets;  (3)  what  importance  was 
attached  to  teaching;  and  (4)  in  what  this  teaching  con- 
sisted. Although  the  whole  missionary  propaganda  was 
considered  by  Paul  (1  Timothy  2.  7)  as  a  process  of  teach- 
ing, teaching  seems  to  have  been  clearly  differentiated  from 
prophesying.  Observe  that  the  teacher  as  well  as  the 
prophet  performs  his  ministry  through  the  Spirit  (1  Corin- 
thians 12.  28).  ''The  word  of  wisdom  and  the  word  of 
knowledge"  (1  Corinthians  12.  8)  seem  to  characterize  the 
work  of  the  teacher.  The  teacher,  instead  of  depending 
on  an  immediate  revelation,  seems,  rather,  to  have  spoken 
on  various  aspects  of  Christian  truth  after  study  and 
meditation.  Examine  1  Corinthians  2.  6-16  for  PauPs 
conception  of  the  wisdom  it  became  the  function  of  the 
Christian  teacher  "to  utter.  The  teacher  no  doubt  con- 
cerned himself  with  explaining  the  death  of  Jesus,  his 
i>[essianic  character,  the  relation  of  Judaism  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  reasonable  expectations  concerning  the 
new  world-order  in  the  ^lessianic  age. 

The  Settled  Ministry. — {a)  Apostles,  prophets,  teachers. 
— The  church  never  has  been  without  its  missionaries  who 
have  pushed  its  borders  into  new  communities.  But  there 
early  arose  the  need  of  a  fuller  guidance  than  could  be 
given  by  the  apostle  who  had  evangelized  a  town  and  estab- 
lished a  church.  In  some  cases  the  apostle  gave  the 
church  an  organization  (Acts  14.  23),  and  in  other  cases 
the  missionaries  themselves,  in  course  of  time,  made  their 
permanent  residence  among  the  new  Christian  communities. 
Chapter  13  of  The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  reads : 

141 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Every  true  prophet  desiring  to  settle  among  you  is  worthy 
of  his  food.  In  lili;e  manner  a  true  teacher  is  also 
worthy,  like  the  workman,  of  his  food.  Every  first 
fruit,  then,  of  the  produce  of  the  wine  vat  and  of  the  thresh- 
ing floor,  of  thy  oxen  and  of  thy  sheep,  thou  shalt  take  and 
give  as  the  first  fruit  to  the  prophets,  for  they  are  your  chief 
priests. 


Note  the  exceeding  honor  in  which  the  true  missionary 
prophet  is  here  held. 

(b)  Presbyters  (or  elders),  deacons,  bishops. — Whether 
or  not  an  apostle  took  up  his  residence  in  a  Christian  com- 
munity, there  were  certain  duties  to  perform  which  required 
administrative  officers.  Where  the  congregation  outgrew 
a  private  house,  a  room  or  hall  needed  to  be  secured  and 
eared  for.  Means  of  baptism,  the  elements  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  the  care  of  the  Old-Testament  Scriptures,  and 
copies  of  the  Gospels  and  apostolic  letters  required  some 
one  to  provide  for  these  needs.  When  the  congregation 
met  for  worship,  someone  must  preside.  Such  leadership 
naturally  fell  to  the  first  convert  (1  Corinthians  16.  15,  16). 
If  later  converts  occupied  a  more  influential  place  in  the 
community,  this  leadership  might  naturally  pass  into  their 
hands.  The  missionaries  who  evangelized  a  village  or  city 
may  have  designated  the  persons  who  thus  were  to  have 
charge  of  the  simple  necessities  of  church  organization. 
Paul  and  Barnabas  are  stated  to  have  done  this  (Acts  14. 
23).  Luke  calls  these  presidents  or  overseers  of  the  congre- 
gations "presbyters.-"  No  doubt  Paul  also  had  appointed 
the  presbyters  of  Ephesus  (Acts  20.  17). 

Functions  of  Presiding  Officers. — In  Paul's  earlier  let- 
ters there  are  no  special  names  given  to  those  who  exer- 
cised these  administrative  duties.  They  were  simply  men 
"who  had  set  themselves  to  minister  unto  the  saints"  (1 
Corinthians  16.  15).  These  presiding  officers  must  have 
taken  on  early  some  of  the  functions  of  the  apostle,  the 
prophet,  and  the  teacher.  If  the  order  of  church  service 
laid  down  by  Paul  in  1  Corinthians  14.  1-36  was  to  be 
followed  decorously,  the  presiding  officers  necessarily  must 
have  taken  on  the  functions  of  admonition  and  exhorta- 

142 


CHURCH  OEGANIZATION 

tion.     Examine  1  Thessalonians  5.  12,  13;  1  Corinthians 

15.  16,  and  observe  the  urgency  with  which  Paul  counsels 
the  church's  obedience  of  these  officials.  Read  1  Thessa- 
lonians 5.  14, 15  for  an  apparent  counsel  of  these  presidents 
of  the  churches.  It  is  the  last  written  letter  of  Paul  which 
first  uses  special  names  for  these  presidents.  Ex- 
amine Philippians  1.  1.  While  the  word  "deacon"  occurs 
here,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  word  was  used  by  Paul 
to  designate  a  particular  class  of  church  officials.  The  word 
''deacon*'  is  applied  to  the  apostles  (Romans  11.  13;  1  Co- 
rinthians 3.  5) ;  to  those  who  preside  over  the  congregations 
(1  Corinthians  16.  15) ;  to  those  dispensing  charity  (Ro- 
mans 16.  1,  2;  2  Corinthians  8.  1-4).  (In  these  refer- 
ences the  English  version  translates  the  Greek  word  "dea- 
con'' into  "minister.")  This  word,  used  so  variously,  shows 
that  no  church  official  known  as  "deacon"  existed  in  the 
churches  founded  by  Paul. 

Deacon  and  Bishop  Synonymous. — It  is  probable  that 
these  presidents  of  the  congregations,  such  as  Stephanas 
(1  Corinthians  16. 15),  Aquila  and  Prisca  (1  Corinthians 

16.  19),  the  five  men  named  in  Romans  16.  14,  and  the  five 
men  and  women  leaders  mentioned  in  Romans  16.  15 
eventually  came  to  be  known  as  deacons — that  is,  ministers 
of  the  congregation.  They  were  deacons  not  in  the  sense  of 
an  order  of  clergy  but  simply  as  persons  who  ministered  to 
the  congregation  in  the  widest  possible  variety  of  ways. 
Such  presidents  of  the  churches  also  came  to  be  known  by 
another  name,  which  was  in  common  use  among  all  sorts  of 
Greek  organizations  for  the  committee  or  council  which 
was  in  charge  of  the  administration  of  funds.  At  an  early 
date  the  Christian  congregation  felt  the  need  of  caring 
for  its  poor  (James  1.  27;  1  Timothy  5.  9,  16).  The 
"common  fund"  was  an  established  feature  of  church  life 
by  the  end  of  the  first  century.^  It  is  quite  natural  that 
the  presbyters,  or  presidents  of  the  congregations,  should 
come  to  be  known  as  deacons  because  they  ministered  in  a 
variety  of  ways  to  the  churches,  but  also  that  they  should 


See  Chapter  VII. 

143 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

be  called  by  the  name  in  common  use  among  Greek  socie- 
ties for  those  who  administered  funds.  This  name  was 
''Episkopos,"  which  means  overseer,  superintendent,  or, 
in  modern  speech,  bishop.  At  the  time  of  the  death  of 
Paul  no  further  distinction  existed  among  the  terms  "pres- 
byters," "deacons,"  "bishops."  All  were  used  to  designate 
the  presidents  of  the  congregations,  the  chief  heads  of  the 
churches  (see  Acts  20.  17,  28).  Such  officers,  in  the  first 
place,  were  administrators  of  the  affairs  of  the  congre- 
gations, but  as  apostolic  control  of  the  churches  gave  way 
they  took  up  more  and  more  functions  such  as  now  are 
exercised  by  clergymen. 

The  Function  of  Bishop  Enlarged. — As  the  higher  func- 
tion of  teaching,  exhortation,  and  spiritual  discipline  came 
to  be  exercised  by  these  officials  (Hebrews  13.  7, 17 ;  1  Timo- 
thy 3.  1-7),  the  name  "bishop"  clung  to  them  to  express 
their  function  of  supervision  of  the  religious  life  of  the 
churches  (1  Peter  2.  25).  By  the  beginning  of  the  second 
century  two  distinct  changes  have  occurred  in  the  relation 
of  these  spiritual  overseers,  or  presidents,  of  the  churches. 
There  is  now  only  one  bishop  in  each  church,  and  at  least 
in  the  city  churches  of  Syria  and  Asia  ^Jinor  he  has  be- 
come the  monarchical  ruler  of  the  local  church,  surrounded 
by  a  council  of  presbyters.^  First  Timothy  3.  8-13  gives 
the  qualifications  of  deacons.  Observe  that  women  as  well 
as  men  hold  this  position.  The  difference  of  qualifications 
between  bishops  and  deacons  is  slight.  Perhaps  here  their 
duties  were  what  they  clearly  became  in  the  second  century : 
carrying  gifts  to  the  poor  from  the  common  relief  fund,  dis- 
tributing the  bread  and  wine  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  as- 
sisting the  bishop  by  reporting  to  him  individuals  needing 
his  spiritual  care.  Thus,  by  the  beginning  of  the  second  cen- 
tury the  apostles,  prophets,  and  teachers,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  presidents  of  the  congregation,  on  the  other,  in 
many  places  had  developed  into  bishops,  who  were  rulers  of 
local  churches,  who  had  councils  of  presbyters,  and  who 
carried  out  their  functions  with  assistants  known  as  dea- 


*  See  the  letters  of  Ignatius. 

144 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION 

cons.  ThiSj  at  least,  is  the  clearest  explanation  of  the  ex- 
traordinarily difficult  question  of  church  officials  in  the 
apostolic  age. 

Worship 

The  Place  of  Meeting. — Perhaps  more  important  than  its 
officials  is  the  life  of  the  apostolic  church  in  its  meetings 
to  hear  the  Christian  message,  to  strengthen  the  Christian 
experience,  and  to  foster  Christian  fellowship.  The  earliest 
Christians  at  first  conformed  to  the  customary  Jewish 
worship  and  met  in  the  usual  place.  Where  was  this  ?  (Acts 
2.  46;  3.  1,  8.)  They  seem  to  have  selected  a  particular 
spot  for  meeting  one  another  (3.  11;  5.  12).  Yet  a  rite, 
peculiarly  Christian,  necessitated  gathering  in  private 
houses  (2.  46).  Private  dwellings  henceforth  became  the 
customary  meeting  places  of  Christians  throughout  the 
apostolic  age.  Examine  the  following  references  and  state 
all  that  may  be  learned  concerning  the  meeting  places  of 
Christians:  1.  13;  12.  12;  20.  8,  9;  Romans  16.  5;  1  Corin- 
thians 16.  19;  Colossians  4.  15;  Philemon  2.  No  doubt 
the  lecture  hall  of  Tyrannus  was  used  by  the  church  for 
various  meetings  (Acts  19.  9).  There  is  no  record  of 
church  buildings  earlier  than  the  third  century. 

The  Time  of  Meeting. — In  the  first  exuberant  days  of  the 
church's  birth  every  day  was  a  day  of  worship  (Acts  2.  46), 
and  no  doubt  during  the  stay  of  an  apostle  in  a  town  or 
city  the  meetings  of  Christians  were  of  daily  occurrence 
(Acts  19.  9, 10) .  But  the  first  day  of  the  week  early  became 
peculiarly  sacred  to  the  church.  The  Didache  (chapter  14) 
makes  clear  that  our  Sunday  early  became  the  chief  day  for 
Christian  worship:  "On  the  Lord's  own  day  gather  your- 
selves together  and  break  bread  and  give  thanks :  first  con- 
fessing your  transgressions,  that  your  sacrifice  may  be 
pure."  By  the  end  of  the  first  century  the  customary  and 
chief  day  for  worship  was  Sunday.  Jewish  Christians  kept 
their  Sabbath  also  as  a  day  of  rest  from  labor  and  for 
worship.  The  Lord's  Day  was  not  a  day  of  rest  from  labor 
during  the  apostolic  age  and  not  generally  a  day  of  rest 
until  the  empire  became  Christian  under  Constantiue.  Paul 

145 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

apparently  was  opposed  to  the  introduction  of  the  Jewish 
Sabbath  among  the  Gentile  churches  (Colossians  2.  16,  17; 
Galatians  4.  10)  and  considered  every  day  alike  (Romans 
14.  5).  Ignatius,  writing  about  a.  d.  106-15,  is  more 
explicit  in  his  objection  to  the  Jewish  Sabbath:  "Let  us 
therefore  no  longer  keep  the  Sabbath  after  the  Jewish  man- 
ner. Let  every  friend  of  Christ  keep  the  Lord^s  Day  as  a 
festival,  the  resurrection  day,  the  queen  and  chief  of  all 
the  days  of  the  week." 

The  Hour  of  Worship. — The  Lord's  Day  not  being  a  rest 
day,  either  in  the  Jewish  or  in  the  Gentile  world,  the  meet- 
ings for  worship  naturally  were  held  in  the  evening  or  in 
the  early  morning.  Examine  Acts  20.  7  for  an  instance  of 
such  hours  of  service.  Here  the  Christians  were  following 
the  Jewish  custom  of  beginning  the  sacred  day  with  sunset 
and  ending  it  with  the  next  sunset.  Pliny,  the  Roman  pro- 
consul of  Bithynia,  in  his  letter  to  the  emperor  Trajan 
says  that  certain  Christians  whom  he  had  examined  de- 
clared that  "the  whole  of  their  guilt  or  their  error  was  that 
they  met  on  a  stated  day  before  it  was  light  and  addressed  a 
form  of  prayer  to  Christ  as  to  a  divinity,  binding  them- 
selves by  a  solemn  oath  never  to  commit  any  fraud,  theft, 
or  adultery,  never  to  falsify  their  word,  nor  deny  a  trust 
when  they  should  be  called  upon  to  deliver  it;  after  which 
it  was  their  custom  to  separate  and  then  reassemble  to  eat 
in  common  a  harmless  meal.''  If  one  compares  Pliny's  re- 
port with  Luke's  account  of  the  service  at  Troas  and  remem- 
bers that  the  Lord's  Supper  was  a  central  object  of  Chris- 
tian gatherings  from  the  beginning  of  the  church  (1  Corin- 
thians 11.  23-25;  Acts  2.  46),  it  would  seem  that  two  serv- 
ices were  held  on  the  Lord's  Day:  one  Saturday  evening, 
the  other  early  Sunday  morning. 

The  Nature  of  the  Lord's-Day  Service. — (a)  The  evening 
service. — The  chief  object  of  the  evening  service  was  to  par- 
take of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Examine  again  what  is  said  by 
Pliny,  also  the  report  of  the  service  at  Troas  (1  Corinthians 
11.  18-34,  and  Acts  2.  46) ;  then  consider  the  important 
place  this  sacrament  held  in  the  early  church.  The  Lord's 
Supper  followed  a  common  meal.    It  was  the  closing  rite  of 

146 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION 

a  social  meal  designed  to  express  a  full  consciousness  of 
Christian  fellowship.  The  Lord^s  Supper  and  the  common 
meal  were  for  members  only. 

(b)  The  morning  service. — The  statement  of  Pliny  makes 
clear  that  the  Christians  had  an  early-morning  service. 
What  were  the  constituent  elements  of  this  twilight  service, 
according  to  Pliny?  Paul  (1  Corinthians  14)  deals  at 
some  length  with  this  second  service.  What  striking 
difference  existed  between  this  service  and  the  one 
discussed  above  (14.  24)  ?  Teaching  and  prophecy 
also  were  parts  of  this  service.  When  no  distinguished 
teacher  or  prophet  was  present  at  the  service,  these  portions 
of  the  service  were  open  to  all.  Read  again  what  is  said 
by  Paul  (14.  29-32)  about  conducting  this  part  of  the 
service.  Speaking  with  tongues  also  occurred  in  the  serv- 
ices of  the  Corinthian  church.  Examine  1  Corinthians  14. 
2,  4, 13, 14  and  observe  that  this  exercise  was  a  kind  of  pray- 
ing, when  the  speaker^s  words  were  meaningless  to  others 
and  were  the  expression,  even  to  the  one  who  used  them, 
of  no  rational  ideas.  They  were  not  really  words — that  is, 
they  conveyed  no  orderly  thought  to  anyone.  They  were 
the  expression  of  an  ecstatic  mood  of  thanksgiving  and 
praise  to  God.  It  is  impossible  to  know  to  what  extent  of 
time  and  place  the  order  of  the  Lord^s  Day  services  sketched 
above  is  applicable  to  the  churches.  That  the  love  feast 
featured  in  the  services  of  Asia  Minor  in  the  early  part  of 
the  second  century  is  seen  in  the  letter  of  Ignatius  to  the 
church  of  Smyrna.  The  Sunday  service  described  by  Jus- 
tin Martyr^  near  the  middle  of  the  second  century  lacked 
the  common  meal  and  was  composed  of  readings  from  the 
Old  Testament  and  apostolic  letters,  exhortation  by  the 
presiding  official,  and  prayers  by  the  congregation  standing. 
This  was  followed  by  the  Lord's  Supper. 

The  Rite  of  Baptism. — Baptism  was  a  condition  of  admit- 
tance to  the  church  from  the  beginning  (Acts  2.  38;  Gala- 
tians  3.  27;  1  Corinthians  1.  13).  Judging  from 
1.    14-17,    what    importance    did    Paul    attach    to    the 


8  Apology,  Chapter  LXVII. 

147 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

rite?  Consider  PauFs  conception  from  his  discussion  in 
Romans  6.  3-11.  May  any  inference  be  drawn  from  6.  4  and 
Colossians  2.  12  concerning  the  mode  of  baptism?  The 
manner  in  which  the  rite  was  administered  undoubtedly 
greatly  varied.    The  Didache  orders : 

Thou  Shalt  baptize  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  running  water;  but  if  thou 
hast  not  living  water,  then  baptize  in  other  water.  If  thou 
art  not  able  in  cold  water,  then  in  warm;  but  if  thou  hast  not 
either,  then  pour  water  on  the  head  thrice.  But  before  the 
baptism,  let  him  that  baptizeth  and  him  that  is  baptized  fast, 
and  any  others  who  are  able.  Thou  shalt  order  him  that  is 
baptized  to  fast  a  day  or  two  before. 

According  to  the  Didache  none  but  baptized  persons  might 
partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  This  is  the  implied  teaching 
of  Paul  in  connection  with  the  church  of  Corinth. 

Summaky:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

Permanent  Christian  Triumphs. — It  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive any  permanent  Christian  triumphs  apart  from  the 
church.  A  continual  succession  of  missionaries  from  the 
day  of  Pentecost  until  this  day  could  have  made  no  endur- 
ing impression  upon  the  world.  Indeed,  the  very  mission- 
ary activities  of  Christianity  are  dependent  on  the  church. 
The  church  conserved  the  apostolic  teaching  in  many  ways. 
The  missionary  awakened  the  dawn  of  finer  life  in  a  group 
of  residents  in  town  or  city  and  then  passed  on  to  new  com- 
munities. Such  converts,  had  they  not  been  gathered  into 
churches,  assembled  regularly  for  instruction,  and  placed 
under  the  guidance  of  the  most  spiritual  and  zealous,  in- 
evitably would  have  fallen  back  into  paganism  or  been 
diverted  into  the  wildest  extravagances. 

Christian  Fellowship. — The  common  meal,  the  com- 
mon faith,  the  common  baptismal  rite,  and,  above 
all,  the  eucharistic  sacrament  of  bread  and  wine,  with 
its  memorial  of  Golgotha  and  its  prophecy  of  Christ's 
coming,  were  mighty  agents  in  creating  a  social  bond  of 
extraordinary  attractiveness  and  power.  It  was  in  this 
social  fellowship  with  each  other  and  with  Christ  that  the 

148 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION 

new  convert  was  safe.  Ignatius,  in  writing  to  the  Ephe- 
sians,  forcefully  emphasizes  this:  "Take  heed,  then,  often 
to  come  together  to  give  thanks  unto  God.  For  when  j^ou 
come  frequently  together  in  the  same  place,  the  powers  of 
Satan  are  destroyed."  This  fellowship  was  extended 
ideally  far  beyond  the  actual  social  contact  of  a  single 
community.  Paul,  in  writing  to  his  converts  in  Corinth, 
addresses  them,  "Unto  the  church  of  God  which  is  at  Cor- 
inth.'^ The  individual  Christian  felt  himself  not  merely 
a  member  of  his  local  society,  but  ideally  a  member  of  an 
organization  that  rapidly  was  extending  to  the  remoter 
provinces  of  the  empire.  If  he  traveled  from  Antioch  or 
Ephesus,  to  Corinth  or  to  Rome,  he  would  find  brothers 
who  believed  his  beliefs  and  were  actuated  by  his  hopes. 
Nor  was  this  fellowship  limited  to  living  brethren;  those 
whose  testimony  was  silenced  by  death  (1  Thessalonians  4. 
16,  17;  Hebrews  11.  39,  40)  were  members  still  of  Christ^s 
glorious  brotherhood,  whose  welfare  was  the  concern  of  all. 

The  Monarchical  Episcopate  an  Inevitable  Necessity. — 
The  distinction  between  clergy  and  laity  was  bound  to  arise. 
Church  organization  required  officials;  and  as  their  duties 
became  more  arduous  and  varied,  secular  vocations  became 
more  and  more  impossible.  The  monarchical  episcopate, 
well  developed  by  the  opening  of  the  second  century,  was 
an  inevitable  necessity.  Many  dangers  threatened  the 
church:  heresies,  persecution,  and  economic  advantages  of 
paganism.  Rigid  organization,  attentive  oversight,  and 
authoritative  teaching  could  be  had  alone  by  the  system 
that  actually  developed  in  response  to  needs. 

The  Social  Implications  of  the  Lord's  Day  Incalculable. 
— It  is  a  curious  thing  that  the  need  of  a  day  of  rest  among 
Gentile  Christians  was  felt  so  slightly  in  connection  with 
the  requirements  of  the  Lord's-Day  services.  The  fear  of  a 
Judaizing  Christianity  blinded  Gentile  Christianity  to  the 
social  need  of  a  Sabbath.  Then,  too,  the  Gentile  world  was 
neither  religiously  nor  economically  organized  for  a  weekly 
cessation  from  labor.  But  when  the  fear  of  Judaism  was 
past,  the  latent  connection  of  Christianity  with  Hebrew 
life  asserted  itself,  and  the  Sabbath  became  a  Christian  in- 

149 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

stitution.  The  social  implications  of  the  Lord's  Day  are 
incalculable.  The  weekly  rest  day  of  Hebrew-Christian 
life  by  itself  alone  can  well-nigh  revolutionize  a  pagan 
civilization. 

The  Church  and  the  Kingdom 

Be  Apostolic! — The  first  apostles  were  essentially  mis- 
sionaries. They  were  dominated  by  the  passion  to  share 
with  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  world  the  new  spiritual  life 
awakened  in  them  by  their  fellowship  with  Christ.  For 
this  they  lived;  for  this  they  died.  It  was  this  unceasing 
zeal  that  gave  us  the  church;  it  was  this  same  passion  to 
bring  new  converts  into  a  life-enriching  fellowship  which 
kept  the  church  alive.  Is  your  church  merely  existing? 
Then  devote  yourself  to  the  apostolic  experience  and  ideal. 
Begin  this  day  to  commend  your  Christ  to  some  acquaint- 
ance. Be  a  personal  evangelist.  Then,  too,  give  yourself 
to  the  missionary  movements  of  the  church.  Catch  the 
inspiration  of  the  greatest  apostolic  enterprises  since  the 
first  century.    Be  an  apostle  in  belief  and  practice. 

Be  a  Prophet ! — What  is  your  prophetic  experience  ?  The 
essential  mark  of  the  prophet  is  to  live  with  soul  open  to  the 
immediate  direction  of  God.  Is  this  experience  yours? 
Is  your  life  consciously  responsive  to  his  will?  Do  you 
transact  the  affairs  of  business,  of  the  family,  or  civic  life, 
of  the  church,  and  of  your  hours  of  leisure  guided  by  the 
feeling  that  what  you  do  is  a  fulfilling  of  the  divine  pur- 
pose for  you?  Here  is  the  source  of  your  religious  life. 
If  you  are  truly  religious,  you  will  feel  that  in  your  life 
God  really  reveals  himself  in  your  choices,  in  your  ideals, 
in  the  things  that  are  dear  to  you,  in  your  moral  standards. 

Be  a  Teacher ! — Are  you  a  teacher  of  religion  ?  Perhaps 
you  are  saying  religion  cannot  be  taught;  religion  is  the 
product  of  the  indwelling  Spirit  in  the  soul  of  man :  it  is 
something  begotten  in  us  by  the  living  God.  "Go,  there- 
fore, and  teach  all  nations."  It  was  Jesus,  the  Teacher, 
who  kept  his  disciples  because  he  alone  had  the  words  of 
life.  We  need  a  truer  conception  of  teaching.  To  teach  is 
more  than  to  share  information  with  another;  it  is  to  pass 

150 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION 

on  one's  convictions,  enthusiasms,  ideals.  It  is  to  lift  an- 
other into  the  realm  of  one's  spirit,  faith,  and  life.  No 
Christian  can  keep  his  experience  of  Christ  apart  from  the 
teacher's  vocation.  No  church  can  fulfill  its  true  mission 
in  its  community  unless  teaching  is  one  of  its  chief 
functions. 

"In  Remembrance  of  Me." — What  is  your  thought  of  and 
feeling  toward  the  Lord's  Supper?  Is  this  sacrament  for 
you  what  it  was  for  early  Christianity — the  visible  symbol 
of  Christ's  presence,  the  visible  token  of  Christ's  promised 
Kingdom,  the  visible  reenacted  drama  of  Christ's  passion  ? 
Is  it  only  bread  and  wine  you  see?  Or,  somehow,  in  this 
rite  of  the  church,  taking  us  back  to  Golgotha  itself,  do 
you  enter  into  the  presence  of  the  ineffable  mystery  of 
God's  love  and  Christ's  sacrifice?  Forget  the  bit  of  bread 
you  have  eaten  and  enter,  rather,  into  the  mighty  fellow- 
ship of  Christ's  church — Christ's  body  which  is  for  you: 
Christ  and  all  his  disciples  until  now,  a  glorious  company 
of  aspiring,  dreaming  souls,  waiting  to  receive  you  into 
their  fellowship.  Enter  in  through  this  mystical  drama 
and  find  your  life.  Is  it  the  blood  of  the  grape  alone  ?  God 
forbid !  It  is  the  wine  of  an  infinite  sacrifice :  the  pressed 
juices  of  inextinguishable  dreams,  unquenchable  loves,  and 
indestructible  hopes ;  it  is  the  mystic  blood  from  the  heart 
of  the  eternal  God.  This  is  the  Christian  mystery.  This 
sacrament  initiates  the  communicant  into  the  awe-inspiring 
presence  of  God's  love  and  redemptive  passion. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  Discuss  the  terms  "apostles,"  "prophets,"  and  "teachers." 

2.  Why  was  a  settled  ministry  unthought  of  at  first? 

3.  What   influences   finally   limited   the   term   "apostle"   to 
Paul  and  the  Twelve? 

4.  What  are  the  meanings  of  the  terms  "presbyter,"  "dea- 
con," "bishop"? 

5.  State  the  simple  needs  of  a  congregation  which  required 
a  presiding  oflacer? 

6.  Discuss  the  development  which  had  taken  place  in  the 
oflQciary  of  the  church  by  the  beginning  of  the  second  century. 

7.  What  was  the  character  of  the  worship  of  Christians  im- 
mediately after  Pentecost? 

151 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

8.  What  finally  led  to  a  special  service  and  place  of  meet- 
ing? 

9.  Describe  the  two  chief  meetings  of  worship  in  the  early 
church. 

10.  Discuss  the  Importance  placed  upon  the  rite  of  baptism. 

11.  What  service  did  the  church  render  to  the  Kingdom  in 
the  first  century? 

12.  Discuss  the  contribution  made  by  the  Lord's  Supper  to 
the  developing  kingdom  of  God. 

13.  State  the  argument  for  baptism  to  a  G-entile  convert  of 
the  first  century. 

14.  Sum  up  the  contributions  made  to  the  social  order  of 
the  Gentile  world  by  the  Christian  Church  in  the  first  cen- 
tury. 

Reading  References 

The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity,  Harnack,  Vol- 
ume I,  pages  319-68. 

The  Apostolic  Age,  McGiffert,  pages  645-72. 

The  Church  of  the  Apostles,  Ragg,  pages  229-51. 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  I,  pages 
455-506. 

Article  "Bishop"  in  A  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic  Church, 
Ha&tings. 


152 


CHAPTER  XII 

TRIALS   AND   TRIUMPHS    OF   THE   APOSTOLIC 
CHURCH 

Peeceding  chapters  have  indicated  that  the  gospel  won 
its  victorious  way  through  the  antagonism  of  Judaizers, 
pagan  moral  habits,  economic  problems,  and  persecution  by 
Jewish  and  Roman  authorities  into  a  widespread  accept- 
ance and  a  somewhat  compact  organization  toward  the  close 
of  the  first  century.  This  chapter  will  examine  something 
of  the  internal  struggle  of  the  church  to  avoid  forms  of 
teaching  which  would  prove  destructive  of  the  Christian 
life  developed  under  the  guidance  of  the  apostles. 

Hekesy 

Reasons  for  the  Possibility  of  Heresy  in  the  Apostolic 
Age. — In  the  latter  half  of  the  first  century  church  leaders 
frequently  warned  the  Christian  communities  against  false 
and  erroneous  teachers  and  apostles.  This  teaching,  which 
was  at  variance  with  the  main  line  of  apostolic  beliefs  and 
doctrines,  continually  spread  until,  during  the  second 
century,  the  church  was  plunged  into  a  life-and-death 
struggle  with  its  foe.  Some  of  the  New-Testament  evi- 
dence of  these  rising  sects  is  found  in  Colossians  2.  8,  18 ; 
Matthew  24.  11,  24;  2  Peter  2.  1;  1  John  4.  1;  Revelation 
2.  2;  19.  20;  20.  10.  These  references  indicate  that  the 
false  teaching  might  so  closely  resemble  the  accepted  apos- 
tolic teaching  that  the  very  best  people  in  the  church  could 
be  led  astray.  These  erroneous  teachings  were  not  neces- 
sarily the  attack  of  the  enemies  of  Christianity ;  sometimes, 
at  least,  they  were  views  that  sprang  up  within  the  very 
folds  of  the  church.  Neither  the  trials  nor  the  triumphs 
of  the  apostolic  church  can  be  understood  apart  from  the 

153 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

fact  that  the  beliefs  and  convictions  that  finally  crystallized 
into  doctrines  were  not  given  to  the  churches  at  one  time; 
they  are  the  result  of  the  process  of  development.  A  sketch 
of  the  development  in  the  beliefs  and  convictions  about  the 
person  of  Jesus  will  make  clear  the  manner  in  which  heresy 
arose. 

The  Person  of  Christ. — (a)  The  teaching  of  the  earliest 
Christians  at  Jerusalem. — The  early  chapters  of  Acts  are 
believed  to  contain  the  oldest  written  Christian  records. 
At  any  rate,  the  speeches  of  Peter  and  Stephen  report  un- 
doubtedly the  views  of  the  Christian  community  of  the 
first  days.  Review  what  is  said  in  Chapter  I  concerning 
"The  Risen  Christ"  and  "The  Task  of  the  Disciples.''  Also 
examine  again  the  topic  "The  Preaching  of  the  First  Days" 
in  Chapter  IV.  Observe  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  the 
Messiah  are  positively  identified  (Acts  2.  36).  Recall  the 
"Servant  of  Jehovah''  prophecies  in  Isaiah  42.  1-4;  49.  1-6; 
50.  4-9;  52.  13  to  53.  12.  Now  examine  Acts  3.  13,  26; 
4.  30  and  consider  whether  Peter  identifies  Jesus  with  the 
Servant  of  Jehovah  or  not.  Observe  also  that  the  Messianic 
title  "Son  of  man"  is  applied  to  Jesus  by  the  martyr 
Stephen  (7.  56).  Note  that  the  title  "Lord"  is  applied 
both  to  God  (4.  24)  and  to  Jesus  (2.  36;  7.  59).  Undoubt- 
edly, previous  to  the  crucifixion,  the  disciples  believed  that 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah  (Luke  24.  21),  but  this  belief  had 
been  dispelled  by  his  death.  The  resurrection  of  Jesus  re- 
vived this  belief  into  solid  conviction.  Jesus  stood  forth 
revealed  as  Messiah,  or  Christ. 

(b)  Paul's  conception  of  Christ. — Paul  advances  this  de- 
velopment of  belief  in  the  person  of  Jesus.  Jesus  is  Christ 
and  Lord  (Romans  1.  4).  He  is  also  the  "Son  of  God" 
(1.  4).  Read  closely  8.  9-11  and  state  whether  Paul  says 
that  the  "Spirit  of  Christ"  and  the  "Spirit  of  God"  are 
really  one  Spirit,  or  whether  he  is  saying  that  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  and  the  Spirit  of  God  each  may  dwell  in  man,  and 
that  the  religious  effects  of  such  indwelling  are  the  same. 
To  help  answer  this  consult  1  Corinthians  3.  23;  11.  3; 
15.  28;  Philippians  2.  11,  and  observe  the  positive  way  in 
which  Paul  subordinates  Christ  to  God.     In  the  light  of 

154 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS 

these  last  references  what  does  Paul  mean  by  his  statement 
in  Colossians  2.  9  ?  See  also  (Philippians  2.  6)  the  asser- 
tion of  Christ's  equality  with  God.  For  Paul,  Christ,  whom 
he  also  identified  with  Jesus,  existed  previously  to  the  birth 
of  Jesus.  Paul's  conception  of  Christ  wavers  between  his 
Hebrew  conviction  of  one  God  and  his  Christian  conscious- 
ness of  the  exalted  nature  of  Christ.  For  him  there  is  one 
God  who  has  created  all  things,  in  whom  all  beings  live, 
and  who  dwells  uniquely  in  all  who  honor  his  Christ;  but 
at  the  same  time  Christ  is  a  preexistent,  exalted,  divine 
Being,  who  also  dwells  in  the  life  of  the  Christian  believer. 

(c)  The  conception  of  Christ  in  Hebrews. — The  author 
of  Hebrews  defines  the  term  "Son  of  God"  in  such  a  way 
as  to  make  Jesus  divine  in  the  same  sense  in  which  God 
is  divine.  Jesus  was  an  active  agent  in  the  creation  of  the 
worlds  (Hebrews  1.  2) ;  he  is  the  "effulgence  of  God's 
glory"  and  the  "very  image  of  his  substance"  (1.  3).  Jesus 
"upholds  all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power"  and  is  now 
God,  whose  throne  is  forever  and  ever  (1.  8).  Yet  there 
are  statements  that  subordinate  the  person  of  Jesus  to  God. 
The  Son  does  not  occupy  the  throne;  he  is  at  the  throne's 
right  hand.  He  is  appointed  to  his  high  priesthood  by  God 
(3.  2).  It  is  God  who  has  made  him  heir  of  all  things  (1. 
2).  Here  again  the  exact  relation  of  Christ  to  God  is  left 
uncertain. 

(d)  The  conception  of  Christ  in  the  fourth  Gospel. — 
The  fourth  Gospel  carries  further  Paul's  teaching  concern- 
ing Jesus  as  the  exalted  Son  of  God.  For  Paul  it  was  the 
resurrection  which  made  apparent  this  Sonship.  The 
author  of  the  fourth  Gospel  sees  this  exalted  glory  of  God's 
Son  in  the  earthly  life  of  Jesus.  Read  John  1.  1-3  and  state 
what  divine  qualities  are  attributed  to  Jesus.  Examine 
10.  30,  37,  38 ;  12.  45 ;  14.  9-11 ;  17.  21 ;  20.  28,  and  state  the 
emphasis  upon  the  divine  nature  of  Jesus.  Yet  here  too 
Jesus  is  subordinated  to  God.  God  is  greater  than  Jesus 
(14.  28) ;  God  tells  Jesus  what  to  say  to  men  (8.  26,  40) ; 
the  works  of  Jesus  must  copy  God's  works  (5.  19-23).  Ob- 
serve the  manner  in  which  the  equality  of  Jesus  with  God  and 
his  subordination  to  God  are  expressed  side  by  side  in  this 

155 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

last  reference.  John,  like  Paul  and  the  author  of  Hebrews, 
believes  that  there  is  only  one  God;  yet  despite  the  contra- 
diction involved,  which  they  did  not  attempt  to  resolve, 
Jesus  also  was  God  for  them. 

(e)  The  process  of  development  in  Christian  interpreta- 
tion gave  opportunity  for  varying  teaching. — Thus,  during 
the  apostolic  age,  within  the  Christian  communities  there 
was  a  changing  content  in  the  beliefs  concerning  the  na- 
ture of  Jesus.  For  the  first  Jerusalem  group  of  Christians 
he  was  "a  man  approved  of  God  by  mighty  works  and 
wonders  and  signs  which  God  did  by  him"  (Acts  2.  22). 
For  the  author  of  the  fourth  Gospel  he  was  God,  the  Crea- 
tor of  the  universe,  existent  from  the  beginning  of  all 
things.  This  process  of  development  in  Christian  interpre- 
tation of  the  person  of  Jesus  also  characterized  the  apostolic 
interpretation  of  his  work.  Since  the  meaning  of  his  per- 
son and  the  manner  of  his  redemptive  work  were  not  fixed 
doctrines  furnished  to  the  church  at  its  origin,  but  were 
gradually  attained  by  reflection  upon  the  life  and  death 
and  resurrection  of  Jesus,  the  opportunity  for  teaching  at 
variance  with  generally  accepted  convictions  was  always 
open. 

Heresy  in  the  Apostolic  Age. — (a)  At  Golossce. — ^Read 
Colossians  2.  8,  9  and  observe  the  warning  against  teachers 
whose  reasoning  robs  Christ  of  his  divine  prerogatives. 
Colossians  1.  15-17  seems  to  be  directed  against  these  specu- 
lations, which  belittle  the  exalted  character  of  Jesus.  The 
same  errorists  appear  in  2.  18,  19,  where  the  worshiping  of 
angels  is  part  of  the  false  conception  of  the  creation  of  the 
world.  These  teachers  were  emphasizing  asceticism  (2. 
21-23). 

(h)  In  the  pastoral  Epistles. — A  false  asceticism  is  con- 
demned in  1  Timothy  4.  1-5.  What  relation  is  here  said 
to  exist  between  these  errorists  and  the  church  ?  What  ori- 
gin is  assigned  to  their  view  and  practices  ?  Note  the  man- 
ner in  which  views  alien  to  Christian  tradition  are  charac- 
terized (4.  7).  These  heretics  profess  superior  knowledge 
(2  Timothy  3.  7;  Titus  1. 16).  They  deny  the  resurrec- 
tion (2  Timothy  2. 18).    They  are  guilty  of  many  mojal 

156 


TEIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS 

lapses  from  the  accepted  Christian  standards  (3.  1-9,  13; 
Titus  1.  16). 

(c)  2  Peter  and  J?/cZe.— Read  carefully  2  Peter  2.  1-22 
and  note  the  evils  charged  against  the  false  teachers.  What 
beliefs  of  these  heretics  are  condemned  ?  (2.  1 ;  3.  4.)  With 
what  immoral  practices  are  they  charged?  (2.  2,  3,  10,  13, 
14.)  What  is  this  author's  answer  to  their  denial  of  the 
second  advent  of  Christ?  Why  are  they  likened  to  Ba- 
laam ?  What  doctrinal  aberrations  are  charged  against  cer- 
tain errorists  by  Jude?  (Verses  4,  10.)  Of  what  immorali- 
ties are  they  guilty?  (Verses  3,  8,  11,  16,  18,  19.)  Observe 
the  remarkable  words  that  characterize  the  dangerous  lead- 
ership of  these  heretics  (verses  12,  13).  Note  the  refer- 
ences to  Cain  and  Balaam. 

{d)  1  John  and  Revelation. — The  same  sectaries  appar- 
ently called  forth  the  First  Epistle  of  John.  The  true  knowl- 
edge of  the  Christ  experienced  by  John  is  sharply  con- 
trasted with  the  knowledge  which  the  false  teachers  claimed. 
Read  1  John  1.  1-4  in  the  light  of  this  purpose.  Some- 
thing of  their  false  doctrines  is  indicated  in  2.  22 ;  4.  3-6. 
Their  laxity  in  morals  is  condemned  in  2.  4,  9.  Examine 
Revelation  2.  2,  6,  14,  15  for  other  marks  of  the  groups 
within  the  church  whose  beliefs  and  practices  were  separat- 
ing them  from  apostolic  teaching  and  life. 

Gnosticism. — During  the  second  century  there  came  into 
great  prominence  a  class  of  Christians  who  held  certain 
speculative  views  concerning  the  world,  evil,  God,  Christ, 
and  redemption.  These  were  called  Gnostics  because  of 
their  emphasis  upon  knowledge  as  the  key  to  life  and  re- 
demption. The  struggle  between  these  Gnostics  and  the 
church  was  sharp  and  prolonged.  There  were  many  dif- 
ferences in  their  views,  but  there  were  some  points  of  gen- 
eral agreement.  They  taught  that  our  world  is  a  mixture  of 
rational  and  irrational,  light  and  darkness,  evil  and  good- 
ness. Far  above  our  world  is  a  realm  of  exalted  goodness 
and  light,  where  the  supreme  Being  dwells.  Our  world  was 
not  created  by  this  exalted  Being  but  by  a  divine  Being 
of  lower  order,  who  is  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  the 
supreme  God.     This  Maker  of  our  world  is  Jehovah,  the 

157 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

God  of  the  Jews.  He  has  done  what  he  could  to  make  the 
world  better  but  he  has  undertaken  a  hopeless  task.  Christ, 
who  is  a  wonderful  concentration  of  the  wisdom  and  good- 
ness of  the  supreme  Being,  has  entered  into  our  world  to 
redeem  those  human  souls  in  whom  there  is  a  longing  to 
escape  the  evil  elements  of  the  world.  This  Christ,  a  spir- 
itual Being,  descended  upon  the  man  Jesus  but  left  him 
previously  to  the  crucifixion.  Salvation  is  secured  to  such 
souls  as  catch  the  significance  of  his  coming.  To  hold  the 
true  view  of  the  universe  and  to  be  conscious  of  the  high 
destiny  through  Christ  is  to  possess  salvation. 

The  Docetists. — These  were  a  Gnostic  sect  whose  views  of 
Jesus  were  different  from  those  expressed  above.  They  held 
that  the  Messiah,  a  pure  spiritual  Being,  took  bodily  form 
in  Jesus,  but  that  the  body  the  disciples  knew  in  Palestine 
was  not  real  flesh  and  blood ;  it  was  appearance,  phantom. 
Christ  therefore  did  not  really  suifer  and  die  and  rise 
again.  Read  again  the  Epistles  of  John  in  the  light  of 
these  views,  which,  toward  the  end  of  the  first  century, 
began  to  spread  in  the  Christian  Church.  Note  especially 
the  emphatic  protest  against  Docetism  in  1  John  1.  14;  2. 
18,  19;  4.  2,  5,  6;  2  John,  verse  7.  Polycarp,  who  was  a 
disciple  of  the  Apostle  John,  condemns  the  Gnostics  for 
denying  the  resurrection  and  the  Judgment.  The  Gnostic 
views  of  redemption  discarded  belief  in  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  the  general  Judgment,  and  the  second  coming 
of  Christ. 

Ignatius,  in  refuting  this  heresy  in  several  letters  to 
the  churches  of  Asia  Minor,  reveals  the  widespread  and 
powerful  influence  of  these  views  upon  the  church  at  the 
opening  of  the  second  century.  To  the  church  at  Tralles 
he  writes : 

There  are  some  vain  talkers  and  deceivers,  not  Christians, 
but  Christ  betrayers.  They  alienate  Christ  from  the  Father. 
They  calumniate  his  being  born  of  the  Virgin;  they  are 
ashamed  of  his  cross;  they  deny  his  passion;  they  do  not 
believe  in  his  resurrection.  Stop  your  ears,  therefore,  when 
anyone  speaks  to  you  at  variance  with  Jesus  Christ  who  was 
truly  begotten  of  God  and  of  the  Virgin.  He  truly  assumed 
a  body.    He  did  in  reality  both  eat  and  drink.    He  was  cruci- 

158 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS 

fled  and  died  under  Pontius  Pilate.  He  really,  and  not  merely 
in  appearance,  was  crucified  and  died.  He  also  rose  again 
in  three  days.* 

The  Failure  of  Gnosticism. — Gnosticism  did  not  fail 
solely  because  of  its  doctrine  or  its  ethics ;  for  its  doctrines 
were  not  altogether  error,  and  its  moral  outlook  was  not 
all  libertine.  The  Gnostics  emphasized  one  aspect  of  the 
higher  life :  knowledge.  In  pursuit  of  knowledge  they  were 
led  into  speculative  extravagance.  Other  elements  of  the 
Christian  life  were  ignored  or  denied.  Universal  Chris- 
tianity had  a  richer  social  vision,  a  deeper  ethical  con- 
sciousness, a  truer  democratic  spirit,  a  more  trustworthy 
historical  sense.  The  defeat  of  Gnosticism  was  the  prac- 
tical consciousness  triumphing  over  the  speculative  con- 
sciousness within  the  church. 

Apostasy 

Reasons  for  Apostasy. — Economic  hardships,  social  disad- 
vantages, the  lure  of  pagan  morals,  or  the  suspicion  of  gov- 
ernment authorities  were  sufficient  in  many  cases  to  turn 
the  new  disciple  away  from  his  brethren  and  his  faith. 
When  these  causes  centered  in  persecution  by  Roman  offi- 
cials, the  danger  of  denial  of  Christianity  became  acutely 
pronounced.  Pliny's  famous  letter  to  Trajan,  revealing  the 
situation  in  Bithynia,  is  typical  of  the  situation  everywhere. 
He  says  of  certain  persons  accused  of  being  Christians : 

Some  among  them  at  first  confessed  themselves  Christians 
but  immediately  afterward  denied  it;  the  rest  owned  indeed 
that  they  had  been  of  that  number  formerly  but  had  now 
— some  above  three  years,  others  more,  and  a  few  above 
twenty  years — renounced  that  error. 

Apparently  the  fear  of  death  drove  many  half-hearted 
Christians  back  into  paganism. 

The  Test  of  Emperor  Worship. — Throughout  Asia  Minor, 
toward  the  close  of  the  first  century,  the  worship  of  the 
reigning  Roman  emperor  became  the  test  on  the  part  of 
the   authorities   to   distinguish   Christians   from   pagans. 

1  Chapter  IX. 

159 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Pliny  reports  of  those  who  denied  that  they  were  Chris- 
tians : 

They  repeated  after  me  an  invocation  to  the  gods  and 
offered  religious  rites  with  wine  and  incense  before  your 
[Trajan]  statue,  which  for  that  purpose  I  had  ordered  to  be 
brought,  together  with  those  of  the  gods,  and  even  reviled 
the  name  of  Christ;  whereas  there  is  no  forcing,  it  is  said, 
those  who  are  really  Christians  into  any  of  these  compliances. 

The  Background  of  the  Book  of  Revelation. — It  is  this 
emperor  worship  and  the  persecution  of  the  church,  which 
its  institution  involved,  which  is  the  dark  background  of 
the  book  of  Revelation.  Something  of  the  mode  of  wor- 
ship is  given  in  the  foregoing  quotation  from  Pliny.  Great 
effort  was  made  to  commend  this  worship  to  the  people  by 
priests  of  Asia.  Pretended  miracles  were  performed  in  the 
sight  of  the  people.  Through  some  trickery  fire  seemed  to 
fall  from  heaven,  and  the  image  of  the  emperor  was  made 
to  speak  (Revelation  13.  13,  15). 

The  book  of  Revelation,  Pliny's  correspondence  with  Tra- 
jan, and  the  Epistle  of  Clement  indicate  that  the  church 
suffered  considerable  persecution  during  the  reign  of  Domi- 
tian.  Some  were  exiled  (Revelation  1.  9),  many  suffered 
hardship  in  business,  many  were  tortured,  many  were  put 
to  death.  Some  form  of  boycott  or  petty  harassing  of 
Christians  was  indulged  in  (13.  16,  17),  or  some  religious 
restriction  was  put  upon  trade  such  as  would  exclude 
Christians  from  the  markets.  Open  avowal  of  Christ  was 
death  (13.  15).  Martyrdom  claimed  its  toll  drawn  from 
many  provinces  during  the  reign  of  Domitian.  Rome  was 
drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus  (17.  6). 

Church  and  Empire. — The  attempt  to  universalize  em- 
peror worship  and  the  consequent  bitter  persecution  of  the 
Christians  awoke  in  the  church  a  deep  hostility  to  the  em- 
pire. The  author  of  the  book  of  Revelation  clearly  indi- 
cates this.  The  red  dragon  of  chapter  12  is  "Satan,  the 
deceiver  of  the  whole  world."  The  beast  coming  up  out  of 
the  sea  (13.  1)  is  the  Roman  Empire,  which  wields  Satan's 
power  (13,  4).  The  worship  of  the  emperor  is  really  the 
worship  of  Satan  (2.  13;  13.  4),  and  the  power  of  Rome 

160 


TRIALS  AKD  TRIUMPHS 

and  the  imperial  worship  extend  throughout  the  world  (13. 
8).  The  same  intense  antagonism  of  the  church  toward 
the  empire  and  the  hostility  of  the  imperial  power  toward 
Christianity  are  seen  in  the  scarlet  woman  of  chapter  17. 
Rome  is  this  woman,  rich  and  licentious,  upheld  by  a  scar- 
let-colored beast — that  is,  by  the  imperial  power.  The 
ceaseless  conflict  between  the  church  and  the  empire,  in- 
augurated by  Nero  but  more  fiercely  determined  by  Domi- 
tian,  appears  in  the  statement  (17.  14)  that  the  ten  horns 
of  the  beast  shall  war  against  the  Lamb.  The  author  of 
Revelation  was  interested  especially  in  the  province  of 
Asia,  where  he  lived.  The  religious  and  civil  authorities 
of  Asia  constitute  for  him  a  second  beast,  with  two  horns 
symbolizing  these  two  aspects  of  the  government  (13.  11). 
The  provincial  authorities  in  Asia  exercise  *^all  the  au- 
thority of  the  first  beast"  (Rome)  (13.  12)  and  zealously 
promote  the  imperial  worship. 

The  Prophetic  Message  of  the  Book  of  Revelation. — 
Christian  loyalty  even  unto  death  is  the  prophetic  message 
of  Revelation.  The  author  urges  the  Christians  to  stand 
firm  against  both  apostasy  and  the  fear  of  martyrdom. 
This  position  is  urged  by  three  considerations:  (1)  The 
Roman  Empire  is  doomed  to  sudden  destruction  (Revela- 
tion 17.  14).  Even  if  the  second  coming  of  Christ  should 
not  destroy  the  power  of  Rome,  the  empire  itself  shall  be 
shattered  by  her  own  princes  contending  for  power  (17. 
16) .  The  woes  of  the  imperial  city  when  destruction  comes 
upon  her  are  vividly  painted  in  18.  8-19.  In  place  of  Rome, 
Christ  will  establish  an  earthly  Kingdom  (20. 1-4),  wherein 
faithful  Christians  and  martyrs  shall  live  and  reign  with 
Christ  a  thousand  years.  This  shall  be  a  kingdom  un- 
touched by  evil.  It  is  the  millennium.  After  the  thousand 
years  are  passed,  the  conflict  breaks  out  again,  to  end  in 
the  vanquishing  of  Satan^s  hosts,  who  will  be  tormented 
forever  and  ever.  (2)  To  be  loyal  to  Christ  the  Christian 
may  suffer  at  the  most  for  a  few  days  or  years;  but  wor- 
shipers of  the  emperor  and  pagan  gods  shall  drink  the  wine 
of  the  wrath  of  God  forever.  They  shall  be  subjected  to 
an  undying  torture  of  fire  and  brimstone  (14.  9-11).    Judg- 

161 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

ment  already  is  at  hand,  and  the  nations  of  the  world  are 
in  the  winepress  of  the  wrath  of  God  (14.  19).  (3)  But 
those  who  are  faithful  unto  Christ  enter  everlasting 
bliss.  They  share  Christ's  eternal  kingdom  (7.  9, 
13-17),  and  the  bitterness  of  this  life  ends  in  un- 
alloyed bliss.  Christ  himself  needed  to  be  slain  to  win 
his  Kingdom  (5.  12),  and  those  who  are  beheaded  in  his 
cause  shall  reign  with  him  (20.  4).  The  martyr  may  seem 
to  lose  all  in  his  loyalty,  but  in  reality  he  gains  all.  His 
Christ  in  taking  over  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  (11.  15) 
is  guaranty  of  his  servant's  eternal  blessedness. 

The  Book  of  Revelation. — In  this  book  a  Christian 
prophet  of  the  closing  decade  of  the  first  century  seeks  to 
steady  the  faith  and  preserve  the  loyalty  of  the  church 
under  the  bitter  persecutions  of  Domitian.  Christians  had 
been  persecuted  by  Nero,  but  little  opportunity  was  given 
under  his  attacks  to  apostatize;  but  now  Christians  could 
escape  the  sword  and  wild  beasts  by  denying  Christ.  Many 
of  the  weaker  in  faith  were  shrinking  from  martyrdom. 
It  was  this  author's  impassioned  purpose  to  save  the  church 
from  spiritual  death.  His  method  is  to  lift  the  thought  of 
his  readers  from  this  world  and  its  common  values  to  an- 
other world,  wherein  faithful  and  martyred  Christians 
reign  with  their  once  slain  but  now  crowned  Redeemer 
and  Lord.  He  was  not  describing  events  to  take  place  in 
far-off  centuries.  For  him  the  Roman  Empire  was  at  the 
threshold  of  its  doom.  Rome,  filled  with  grossest  immorali- 
ties and  drunk  with  the  blood  of  martyrs  (17.  5,  6),  soon 
will  pass  away  (1.  1;  22.  10).  The  Christ  kingdom  dawns. 
Instead  of  Rome,  the  city  of  death,  terrifying  the  world 
from  its  seven  hills,  the  golden  City  of  God,  the  New  Jeru- 
salem, will  be  let  down  upon  the  earth  for  the  residence  of 
God's  saints.  Be  faithful,  and  the  glory  of  your  wildest 
dreams  is  yours ;  deny  Christ,  and  hell,  with  unnamable  tor- 
tures, claims  you  forever.  This  is  the  function  of  the  book 
of  Revelation. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

The  Last  Quarter  of  the  First  Century  Important  in 
162 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS 

Kingdom  Development. — The  closing  decades  of  the  first 
century  are  exceedingly  important  in  the  development  of 
Kingdom  movements  within  the  church.  The  church  faced 
two  foes  that  threatened  its  unity  and  destruction.  It  was 
at  this  period  that  certain  permanent  principles  were 
evolved  in  connection  with  heretical  teaching.  Heresy  is 
not  necessarily  teaching  and  beliefs  contrary  to  truth. 
Christianity  itself  began  as  a  Jewish  heresy  (Acts  24.  14). 
It  is  a  variation  from  accepted  standards.  Whether  the 
new  departure  from  prevailing  beliefs  will  justify  itself  or 
not  remains  to  be  seen.  Many  Gnostics  were  as  sincere  as 
the  other  Christians.  Many  of  their  teachings  were  natural 
developments  of  apostolic  utterances.  In  the  long  run 
Gnosticism  went  dovm  to  defeat  because  it  lacked  power 
to  do  the  best  work  in  the  sphere  of  conduct.  These 
first  heresies,  which  troubled  the  church,  stressed  specula- 
tion and  knowledge  to  the  neglect  of  moral  and  social  du- 
ties. Therefore,  they  were  doomed  to  perish.  The  final 
judgment  of  a  religion  is  not  its  doctrines  but  its  deeds.  In 
any  age  when  doctrines  are  the  test  of  saintliness,  life  suf- 
fers. The  Gnostics  became  indifferent  to  the  social  wants 
of  their  fellow  men.  They  were  the  illumined,  the  spirit- 
ual, the  saved.  There  was  little  impulse  to  regenerate 
society.  The  social  tests  of  Christianity  set  up  by  Jesus 
(Luke  4.  18,  19;  Matthew  25.  34-36)  were  not  recognized 
by  them.  If  the  Docetic  view  that  Jesus  was  not  a  real  man 
but  a  mere  appearance,  in  which  the  heavenly  Christ  dwelt, 
possessed  socially  ethical  power,  it  would  have  prevailed. 
It  failed  because  it  was  divorced  from  the  real  needs  of 
life. 

The  Task  of  Kingdom  Prophets. — Apostasy  was  checked 
in  the  reign  of  Domitian  by  a  glowing  vision  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Rome  and  the  supernal  delights  of  Christ's  king- 
dom. This  prophet  was  mistaken  in  details.  The  empire 
was  not  overturned  according  to  his  expectations.  The 
Messianic  kingdom  was  not  set  up  according  to  his  pro- 
gram. It  never  will  be  inaugurated  and  conducted  by  his 
specifications.  But  the  principle  by  which  he  steadied  the 
faith  of  the  trembling  church  is  eternal.    The  blessings  of 

163 


APOSTLES,  FATHEKS,  AND  REFORMEKS 

the  kingdom  of  God  are  incomparable  with  the  splendors 
offered  by  the  kingdoms  of  the  world.  To  see  and  feel  this 
is  the  only  surety  of  loyalty  to  Christ.  This  is  the  task  ever 
of  the  prophets  of  the  Kingdom:  to  present  the  superior 
blessedness  of  Christian  life  with  God. 

Open  Paths 

The  Trials  of  the  Road. — Even  to  earnest,  sincere  men 
choice  is  often  a  sore  trial.  Gnosticism  was  not  wholly 
evil.  Had  it  been  it  would  not  have  captured  such  large 
parts  of  the  church  through  four  or  five  generations. 
Sincere  Christians  may  have  admitted  the  expediency  of 
preserving  life  at  the  cost  of  burning  incense  before  the 
statue  of  the  emperor.  At  many  a  hard  turning  of  life 
there  is  no  clear  index  pointing  the  way  toward  the  Celes- 
tial City.  The  road  to  heaven  is  not  a  walled-in  highway. 
There  are  endless  turnings  from  the  main  road  to  test  the 
vision  of  the  traveler. 

When  the  Kingdom  of  God  Is  Overdoctrinized  It  Is 
Defeated. — It  is  neither  the  broadly  liberal  nor  the  in- 
tensely conservative  theologian  who  advances  Christ's  king- 
dom. The  citizen  of  the  Kingdom  has  a  creed;  but  it  is 
a  creed  that  does  not  thrust  itself  in  front  of  the  social, 
moral,  and  devotional  needs  of  life.  The  Christianity  that 
triumphs  ever  must  stress  life's  daily  needs  of  moral 
strength,  social  sympathy,  and  spiritual  exaltation.  This 
is  an  intensely  practical  experience,  and  the  religion  that 
devotes  itself  to  speculation  loses  its  right  to  command 
the  world. 

The  Development  of  Belief. — There  was  a  development 
in  the  church's  beliefs  concerning  Jesus,  because  there  was 
a  continually  increasing  richness  in  Christian  experience  of 
life  in  fellowship  with  Jesus.  It  was  Paul's  consciousness 
that  Christ  dwelt  within  him  which  was  the  ground  of  his 
conviction  that  Jesus  was  divine,  and  Christ  preexistent. 
Every  Christian  should  have  a  developing  Christology. 
Our  religious  experience  of  Christ  should  enlarge  and  en- 
rich our  conceptions  of  the  person  of  Christ.  When  we 
see  the  far-reaching  implications  of  his  ideals:  their  spir- 

164 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS 

itual  compulsion  toward  missions  to  pagan  lands,  their 
insistence  upon  social  justice  and  righteousness,  their  eter- 
nal questioning  of  social  and  political  institutions,  their 
power  to  create  peace  in  troubled  souls,  surely  our  thought 
of  the  person  of  Jesus  broadens  and  magnifies  to  the  meas- 
ure of  our  religious  dreams. 

Everything  New  and  Different  Is  Not  Heresy. — Every 
experiment  to  understand  God  better  does  not  end  in  a 
blind  alley.  Do  not  condemn  views  contrary  to  what  you 
have  held  simply  because  you  have  not  been  so  taught. 
Orthodoxy  has  done  as  much  harm  as  heresy.  It  is  not 
necessarily  a  mark  of  saintliness  to  follow  old  paths.  Con- 
servatism badgered  Amos  into  silence,  imprisoned  Jere- 
miah, stoned  Stephen,  beheaded  James,  crucified  Jesus. 
Orthodoxy  hanged  Savonarola,  burned  John  Huss,  sent 
Knox  to  the  galleys,  drove  Wesley  into  the  streets  and 
fields  to  preach  the  gospel  of  love.  There  may  be  yet 
untrodden  paths  toward  the  land  of  truth.  The  test  of 
Christian  truth  is  its  leading  toward  spiritual  and  moral 
living.  Do  not  cherish  a  road  because  it  is  familiar;  cling 
to  it  only  if  it  is  leading  you  morally  nearer  your  fellow 
men  and  God. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  development  did  the  beliefs  of  the  early  church 
undergo? 

2.  What  did  heresy  mean  to  the  early  church?  What 
heresies  had  to  be  met? 

3.  Why  did  the  battle  for  correct  thinking  center  about 
the  person  of  Jesus? 

4.  What  were  the  chief  characteristics  of  Gnosticism? 
Docetism? 

5.  State  the  forces  that  finally  overcame  the  Gnostic  sect. 

6.  What  inducements  tempted  first  century  Christians  to 
abandon  their  Christian  life? 

7.  Discuss  emperor  worship  and  its  influence  upon  early 
Christianity. 

8.  What  effect  would  the  book  of  Revelation  have  had  upon 
you  in  the  first  century? 

9.  State  the  reasons  for  its  being  misunderstood  so  often. 

10.  What  new  light  does  a  study  of  contemporary  times 
throw  on  the  book  of  Revelation? 

165 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  REFORMERS 

11.  state  the  elements  of  their  faith  which  made  the  early 
Christians  victorious. 

Reading  References 

The  Church  of  the  Apostles,  Ragg,  pages  299-312. 

The  Church  of  the  Fathers,  Pullan,  pages  44-56. 

The  Apostolic  Age,  McGiffert,  pages  502-05. 

The  Beginnings  of  Christianity,  Wernle,  Volume  II,  pages 
170-242. 

Article  "Gnosticism"  in  A  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic 
Church,   Hastings. 

Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches,  Ramsay,  Chapters  IX  and  X. 


166 


CHAPTER    XIII 

KINGDOM  MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

The  spread  of  Christianity  during  the  period  repre- 
sented by  the  New-Testament  writings  was  a  religious, 
ethical,  and  economic  movement  of  amazing  proportions. 
Its  triumphs  were  due  not  only  to  its  own  transforming 
spirit  but  also  to  certain  religious  and  political  conditions 
in  the  Greek  and  Roman  world  which  created  for  Chris- 
tianity a  remarkably  free  opportunity  for  its  missionary 
activities.  This  chapter  presents  some  of  these  favoring 
circumstances  and  also  summarizes  those  elements  in  Chris- 
tianity which  made  it  a  new  triumph  in  the  developing 
kingdom  of  God. 

Judaism's  Contkibution  to  the  Kingdom  of  God 

The  Jewish  Dispersion. — There  is  abundant  evidence  of 
the  wide  dispersion  of  Jews  throughout  the  Roman  world 
of  the  first  century.  Jewish  communities  were  found  every- 
where. Jews  of  many  countries  assembled  at  Jerusalem  at 
the  great  festivals  (Acts  2.  9-11).  It  will  be  recalled 
that  Paul  met  his  countrymen  in  every  place  in  Asia  Minor 
and  Macedonia.  From  the  time  of  Pompey,  63  B.  c,  they 
lived  in  large  numbers  in  Rome.  Many  Roman  regulations 
were  set  aside  or  construed  to  their  advantage.  They  were 
excused  from  military  service,  they  did  not  need  to  conform 
to  the  worship  of  the  emperor,  they  were  not  summoned 
before  a  court  on  the  Sabbath,  and  all  civil  suits  among 
themselves  were  disposed  of  in  their  own  courts.  This  free 
exercise  of  their  religion  was  secured  to  them  by  imperial 
order.  The  Jews  set  up  everywhere  synagogues  and  schools. 
Wherever  ten  Jews  or  more  were  living,  there  would  a 
synagogue  be  found.  Not  only  were  these  powerful  agencies 
in  themselves  making  for  a  kingdom  of  righteousness,  but 

167 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

the  synagogue  was  the  starting  point  of  Christianity  in 
nearly  every  city.  It  was  the  center  also  of  a  widespread 
and  continuously  pursued  missionary  effort  to  win  pros- 
elytes to  Judaism.  Despite  the  general  dislike  of  the 
Jew  felt  by  Greek  and  Roman,  large  numbers  of  them 
were  attracted  to  the  monotheism,  the  morals,  and  the  Mes- 
sianic hope  of  their  faith.  These  proselytes  differed  largely 
in  the  extent  to  which  they  conformed  to  Jewish  customs, 
but  simple  observances,  such  as  the  Sabbath,  were  common 
among  multiplied  thousands  of  non-Jewish  people  in  the 
apostolic  age. 

The  Jewish  Dispersion  a  Preparation  for  Christianity. — 
The  preparation  for  Christianity  made  by  this  widely 
spread  dispersion  of  Jews  is  evident.  The  early  Christians 
themselves  were  Jews.  Their  first  places  of  assembly  were 
the  synagogues.  In  some  cases,  in  small  communities, 
the  whole  Jewish  population  accepted  the  new  Christian 
beliefs.  Christians,  being  taken  for  Jews  by  the  Roman 
authorities,  were  allowed  the  right  of  assembly,  proselytism, 
and  the  administration  of  their  common  fund.  Jewish 
missions  had  familiarized  Gentile  communities  with  the 
Old-Testament  Scriptures,  a  monotheistic  religion,  rich 
moral  ideals,  and  the  Messianic  salvation.  Christianity 
was  regarded  alike  by  proselyte  and  public  official  as 
a  Jewish  missionary  propaganda  with  but  slightly  different 
message  and  method.  The  missionary  activity  of  Judaism 
in  the  first  century,  had  it  not  been  overshadowed  by  Chris- 
tianity, would  have  stood  forth  one  of  the  great  Kingdom 
movements  of  the  Jewish  people,  if  not  the  greatest. 

Greek  Language  and  Thought  Aid  the  Spread  of  Chris- 
tianity :  Greek  Language. — During  the  first  Christian  cen- 
tury Greek  thought  and  language  swayed  a  world  almost 
as  large  as  that  which  acknowledged  the  rule  of  Rome.  The 
conquests  of  Alexander  and  his  successors  had  scattered 
Greek  colonists  throughout  almost  the  whole  of  the  Nile 
valley  and  eastward  almost  to  the  borders  of  India.  There 
were  hundreds  of  cities  in  these  lands  to  which  Greek 
residents  had  given  their  language,  government,  charac- 
teristic public  buildings,  customs,  and  manners.    Although 

168 


KINGDOM  M0VE:\IENTS 

the  stricter  Jews  combated  this  advance  of  Greek  life, 
Palestine  was  largely  Hellenized.  There  were  many  Greek 
towns  in  Jewish  territory.  Herod  the  Great  reestablished 
the  Greek  theater  and  amphitheater  at  Jerusalem.  The 
Sadducean  party,  the  Wisdom  literature  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  Jewish  Scrip- 
tures are  evidences  of  Greek  influence  upon  Judaism.  The 
Eoman  conquest  of  the  East  and  the  consequent  political 
unity  of  the  Mediterranean  world  gave  free  opportunity 
for  the  spread  of  Hellenism  in  the  West.  Merchants, 
slaves,  Italian  students  in  Greece,  discharged  soldiers,  trav- 
eling physicians,  and  teachers  introduced  Greek  language 
and  ideas  into  Italy.  At  the  time  Paul  was  in  Eome,  Greek 
painting  and  sculpture  were  the  style;  Greek  slaves  were 
employed  as  cooks,  valets,  teachers,  and  physicians  in  the 
fashionable  houses.  Greek  books  took  precedence  in  Eoman 
libraries.  Cicero  boasted  that  Greek  philosophy  had  been 
mastered  by  him  and  turned  into  elegant  Latin.  Some 
of  the  highest  Eoman  dignitaries  affected  Greek  dress. 
Noble  Eoman  youths  were  sent  to  Athens  to  be  educated. 
Epictetus  delivered  his  discourses,  and  Marcus  Aurelius 
wrote  his  confessions  in  Greek.  It  was  not  until  the 
fourth  century  that  Eome  again  became  a  Latin  city. 
Greek  was  the  one  universal  language  of  the  apostolic 
age.  The  vast  majority  of  Jews  scattered  from  Mesopo- 
tamia to  Spain  read  their  Old  Testament  in  Greek.  Greek 
was  the  language  of  the  synagogue.  The  New-Testament 
writers,  quoting  from  the  Old  Testament,  used  the  Greek 
version.  The  whole  of  the  New  Testament  was  written  in 
Greek.  Jesus  undoubtedly  spoke  Greek  as  well  as  his 
native  Aramaic.  ^latthew  would  have  had  to  know  Greek 
to  perform  the  duties  of  the  customs  office  at  Capernaum. 
It  was  the  language  of  Peter  and  Paul  in  their  public  dis- 
courses. Greek  was  the  one  language  of  early  Christianity. 
It  was  the  exclusive  vehicle  of  the  new  religion.  Such 
words  as  "hymn,"  "psalm,"  "liturgy,"  "homily,"  "cate- 
chism," "baptism,"  "eucharist,"  "epistle,"  "cemetery," 
"evangelist,"  "deacon,"  "presbyter,"  "bishop,"  and  "pope," 
all  of  Greek  origin  and  of  early  use  in  the  church,  reveal 

169 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFOEMERS 

the  indebtedness  of  Christianity  to  the  language  of  ancient 
Greece. 

Greek  Thought. — It  was  impossible  to  speak  and  write 
Greek  without  being  influenced  by  Greek  morals  and 
thought.  Much  attention  was  paid  in  the  study  of  Greek 
to  the  classical  Greek  writers.  Greek  colonists  in  remote 
sections  of  the  empire  knew  the  Iliad  by  heart.  Greek 
religious  and  philosophical  ideas  were  almost  as  widely 
known  as  the  Greek  language.  Some  of  the  outstanding 
Greek  religious  ideas  that  served  as  highways  for  the  Chris- 
tian message  were  (1)  the  conception  of  God  as  a  far-off 
Being,  whose  activities  in  the  world  are  mediated  by  a 
series  of  subordinate  beings;  (2)  the  belief  that  the  world 
is  evil,  is  a  blunder,  the  creation  of  some  lower  divinity 
than  the  supreme  Being;  (3)  the  conviction  that  man  is 
essentially  a  spirit  and  that  he  is  imprisoned  in  this  evil 
world;  and  (4)  the  assurance  of  redemption  for  man,  who 
must  rise  through  true  knowledge  into  life  with  God.  The 
various  mysteries  as  well  as  the  schools  of  philosophy  gave 
expression  to  these  ideas.  While  in  many  details  they  were 
alien  to  the  Christian  message,  in  general  outline  they  fur- 
nished a  sympathetic  audience  for  the  Christian  apostle 
and  teacher  wherever  the  Greek  language  was  known.  This 
Greek  social  and  intellectual  outlook  is  reflected  in  New- 
Testament  references  to  athletic  contests  (Philippians  3. 
12-14;  Hebrews  12.  1;  1  Corinthians  9.  26);  in  Paul's 
familiarity  with  Greek  poetry  and  Stoic  philosophy  (Acts 
17.  22-28) ;  and  in  his  use  of  the  word  "mystery."  Paul 
speaks  over  and  over  again  to  the  Christians  at  Ephesus, 
Colossse,  Corinth,  and  Eome,  of  the  mystery  of  the  faith, 
the  mysteries  of  God,  the  mystery  of  Christ,  the  mystery 
of  the  church,  and  the  mystery  hidden  for  ages.  He  was 
talking  to  Greek-speaking  Christians,  who  knew  by  hear- 
say— and  some  of  them  by  initiation — of  the  great  mys- 
teries celebrated  annually  at  Eleusis.  The  details  of  these 
Eleusinian  mysteries,  guarded  by  the  most  solemn  oaths, 
are  now  lost  beyond  recall;  but  the  doctrines  taught  in 
them,  by  means  of  a  fascinating  ritual,  inculcated  faith  in 
the  gods,  deepened  the  hope  of  immortality,  purified  their 

170 


KINGDOM  move:>ients 

lives,  and  made  them  better  citizens.  It  was  to  a  world 
taught,  by  these  secret  and  sacred  rites  of  Eleusis,  that 
religion  at  its  highest  is  a  mystical  contact  with  Deity  that 
the  Christian  message  came  with  its  proclamation  of  a 
mystery  hidden  for  ages  in  God,  but  now  revealed  in  Christ. 
It  was  in  the  assurance  that  here,  in  the  Christ  and  in 
one's  soul,  and  not  there,  in  the  dark  initiatory  hall  of  the 
Eleusinian  temple,  the  vision  of  the  eternal  verities  was  to 
be  had  which  proved  the  attractive  contact  of  Christianity 
with  the  soberer  Greek  mind. 

Chkistianitt  Assisted  by  Eoman  Life 

Roman  Protection  of  Travelers. — The  Roman  govern- 
ment made  travel  everywhere  safe  and  provided  the  means 
of  communication  between  the  distant  provinces  of  the 
empire.  Travel  was  extraordinarily  easy  and  common. 
One  hundred  miles  a  day  by  carriage  over  the  great  im- 
perial highways  might  be  made.  Single  travelers  rode 
muleback  or  walked  long  distances  without  fear  of  robbers. 
Merchants  carried  their  goods  in  safety  to  the  ends  of  the 
empire.  There  was  recorded  on  the  tomb  of  a  merchant  of 
Phrygia  in  Asia  Minor  that  he  had  made  seventy-two 
journeys  to  Rome.  Travel  was  almost  a  passion  in  the  first 
Christian  century.  To  wander  through  Greece  and  to  sail 
up  the  Nile  were  part  of  a  liberal  culture.  The  roads  were 
filled  with  soldiers,  embassies,  merchants,  traveling  teach- 
ers and  physicians,  tourists,  invalids  in  search  of  health, 
and  officials  of  Rome  going  to  and  from  their  posts.  In 
the  midst  of  these  moving  multitudes  Christian  mission- 
aries traveled  with  safety  and  without  attracting  to  them- 
selves harmful  notice. 

Roman  Law  and  Religjion. — In  the  earliest  days  Roman 
courts  secured  the  missionary  against  the  fanaticism  of 
the  Jew  and  the  insolence  of  Gentile  mobs.  PauPs  Roman 
citizenship  often  was  his  protection.  It  was  not  until  the 
reigns  of  Nero  and  Domitian  that  the  Christians  ceased 
to  seek  freely  the  protection  of  Roman  officials.  The  laws 
that  authorized  the  Roman  guilds  protected  also  many 
of  the  churches.     These  guilds  ministered  to  the  social, 

171 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

economic,  and  religious  needs  of  their  members.  No  doubt 
in  many  communities  the  churches  were  considered  another 
form  of  the  familiar  guild.  Two  aspects  of  Roman  reli- 
gious life  favored  the  spread  of  Christianity.  As  long  as 
the  state  religion  was  recognized,  Roman  authorities  were 
tolerant  of  other  beliefs  and  practices.  During  the  first 
and  second  centuries  A.  d.  several  religions  of  Asia  and 
Egypt  made  their  way  into  Italy  and  the  farther  West. 
Since  these  new  religions,  with  the  exception  of  Chris- 
tianity, made  no  attack  upon  the  state  religion,  it  was 
easier  for  Christianity,  being  one  of  several  missionary 
faiths,  to  escape  condemnation  than  if  it  alone  had  sought 
to  gain  a  footing  in  the  Roman  world.  Then,  too,  these 
Oriental  religions — the  worship  of  Cybele  and  Attis,  of 
Isis  and  Serapis — were  redemptive  religions.  Crude  and 
insufficient  as  they  were,  their  popularity  was  due  to  their 
promise  of  uniting  the  worshiper  with  his  gods.  The  long- 
ing for  redemption  which  Christianity  supplied  was  thus 
quickened  by  the  pagan  cults  it  supplanted.  Early  Chris- 
tianity in  Rome  was  not  confined  to  the  humble  classes. 
In  A.  D.  95  some  members  of  the  imperial  family  who  had 
become  Christians  were  condemned  to  death  by  Domitian. 
Among  them  were  Clemens  and  Domitilla,  who  was  a  niece 
of  the  emperor.  At  the  same  time  Glabrio,  an  ex-consul 
and  a  Christian,  suffered  martyrdom.  There  were  many 
relatives  of  the  emperors  Vespasian  and  Domitian  who 
became  Christians.  Among  the  early  Christians  were  to  be 
found  members  of  the  flower  of  the  Roman  nobility^ — sev- 
eral Cornelli,  Caecillii,  and  ^millii — men  who  were  mag- 
istrates, generals,  consuls,  senators,  and  governors  of  prov- 
inces.^ The  decay  of  the  old  Latin  religion  in  the  upper 
classes  accounts  for  this  favorable  attitude  toward  Chris- 
tianity on  the  part  of  many  high-minded  Roman  men  and 
women.  Seneca,  the  tutor  and  minister  of  Nero,  had 
broken  absolutely  with  paganism.  He  was  deeply  religious, 
and  many  of  his  writings  need  little  change  to  place  them 
in  accord  with  the  most  strict  Christian  teachers.    It  would 


^  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  Lanciani,  Chapter  I. 

172 


KINGDOM  MOVEMENTS 

have  been  easy  for  Seneca  to  become  a  Christian.  Un- 
doubtedly his  writings  were  highly  regarded  by  earnest 
Romans  of  the  first  and  second  centuries.  He  was  a  torch- 
bearer  of  the  Christ. 

The   Christian   Contribution 

Jesus. — Christianity's  supreme  contribution  to  the  world 
is  Jesus  himself.  Although  brought  up  in  a  Jewish  home 
and  nurtured  upon  Jewish  religious  ideas,  Jesus  so  mar- 
velously  lived  beyond  his  kinsmen  that  he  rightfully  is 
everywhere  regarded  as  the  Beginner  of  a  new  age.  His 
moral  and  social  ideals  expressed  in  his  daily  attitude  to 
men  and  in  his  teaching  to  the  group  of  disciples  whom  he 
associated  with  himself;  his  life  of  trust  and  obedience 
toward  God ;  his  resurrection,  which  sealed  his  life  as  God's 
highest  revelation  of  his  ethical  will, — all  these  have  made 
Jesus  the  first  Christian.  Both  in  time  and  in  character 
he  is  the  Head  of  the  vast  community  that  takes  his  name. 
Christianity  gave  Jesus,  the  source  and  embodiment  of  our 
one  universal  religion,  to  the  world  of  Jew,  Greek,  and 
Eoman,  who,  each  in  his  own  way,  had  made  the  necessary 
preparation  for  his  coming. 

Christ. — To  the  vast  multitudes  of  Jews  scattered 
throughout  the  world  the  message  of  the  Messiahship  would 
arouse  vast  doubt,  disbelief,  scorn,  and  antagonism,  or  else 
it  would  thrill  them  with  wonder,  hope,  and  joy.  To  believe 
that  this  crucified  Jesus  was  Jehovah's  Christ  would  create 
in  every  Jewish  community  the  spiritual  exaltation  felt  by 
the  Jerusalem  Christians  in  the  first  glad  days  of  their 
confession  of  their  Lord.  It  meant  that  hope  was  nearing 
its  harvest  time.  It  was  the  birth  of  a  new  spiritual  age. 
From  Jerusalem  there  ran  a  stream  of  wonder  and  doubt 
to  the  ends  of  the  Jewish  world.  Everywhere  the  Christian 
missionary  found  an  eager  audience  at  the  synagogue  to 
hear  at  least  his  initial  message.  The  Christian  message 
to  Jew  and  Gentile,  in  its  insistence  that  Jesus  is  Christ, 
brought  the  dreamed  golden  age  from  the  distant  future, 
where  the  Jews  placed  it,  and  from  the  happy  past,  where 
the  pagan  located  it,  into  the  now  and  here.    Hope  bloomed, 

173 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

and  despair  rose  from  the  grave.  New  meaning  was  given 
to  straggle,  to  suffering,  to  humiliation,  to  the  evil  order 
of  the  world.  The  ethical  significance  of  such  Mes- 
siahship  was  not  at  first  realized.  The  death  of 
Jesus  was  something  to  be  explained  away.  It  had  no 
place  in  the  Messianic  program.  Yet  such  an  event  to  the 
reflecting  church  had  to  yield  meaning.  It  had  some  vital 
connection  with  the  redemption  from  sin.  It  was  not  long 
until  it  was  the  soul  of  the  gospel  that  "Christ  died  for 
our  sins.''  The  heroic  martyrdom  of  Christ  later  became 
an  ethical  impulse  to  win  fellowship  with  him  through 
similar  sufferings  (Philippians  3.  10),  and  by  the  end  of 
the  apostolic  age  only  the  disciple  who  emulated  his  Lord 
might  occupy  the  heavenly  throne  (Revelation  3.  21).  To 
become  perfect  through  struggle  against  evil  was  a  pro- 
found ethical  contribution  to  life  made  by  the  Christian 
preaching  of  the  crucified  Jesus  as  God's  Messiah. 

Intimacy  With  God. — Peter  declared  on  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost that  a  new  age  of  God's  dealings  with  men  had  been 
ushered  in.  Joel,  in  thinking  of  the  Messianic  age,  declared 
one  of  its  marks  to  be  the  evident  presence  of  Jehovah  in 
the  midst  of  Israel  (Joel  2.  27) ;  and  that  this  presence 
would  be  manifested  in  an  extraordinarily  heightened  spir- 
itual sense  such  as  the  disciples  experienced  at  Pentecost. 
The  essence  of  this  Pentecostal  experience  was  a  new,  joy- 
ous, exalting  sense  of  God's  presence  in  the  lives  of  those 
participating  in  it.  This  was  an  experience  which  was  not 
granted  the  disciples  by  personal  contact  with  Jesus.  It 
could  not  have  come  to  them  apart  from  the  wondering 
expectation  of  strange  things  to  come  from  God,  begotten 
in  them  by  the  revolution  wrought  in  their  lives  by  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus.  The  conviction  that  the  risen 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah  was  accompanied  in  the  ear- 
liest Christians  by  a  profound  heightening  of  their  spiritual 
natures,  which  in  some  cases  expressed  itself  in  ecstatic 
language  but  generally  in  a  new  confident  tone,  a  disregard 
of  outward  goods,  fearlessness  in  the  face  of  persecution, 
joyousness  in  the  face  of  death. 

Redemption. — Wherever  Jewish  or  Greek  thought  con- 

174 


KINGDOM  MOVEMENTS 

trolled  the  apostolic  age,  there  was  a  deep  longing  for 
redemption.  The  world  pressed  heavily,  and  no  great  hope 
lighted  the  distant  paths  of  men.  The  Jew  especially  ex- 
pected this  redemption  in  connection  with  the  advent  of 
the  Messiah.  The  ^lessianic  kingdom  was  to  be  inaugu- 
rated by  Jehovah  as  a  vindication  of  Israel  and  a  judgment 
upon  the  Gentiles.  It  was  the  rule  of  God  to  be  introduced 
from  without  into  Israel,  and  not  something  which  sprang 
up  in  the  nation^s  life  from  within.  Greek  thought 
regarded  the  world  as  evil,  and  man  could  be  saved  only  by 
being  rescued  from  it.  In  all  the  Greek  centers  of  popu- 
lation, such  as  Antioch,  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  as  well  as  the 
cities  of  Greece,  there  were  numerous  associations  of  men 
and  women  bound  together  in  secret  societies,  who  were 
seeking,  through  mysterious  religious  ceremonies,  to  re- 
deem themselves  from  a  perishing  world.  All  these  rites, 
like  those  celebrated  at  Eleusis,  sought  to  unite  the  initiate 
with  deity.  Even  the  pagan  seekers  after  truth  realized 
that  in  such  fellowship  alone  was  to  be  found  salvation. 
The  Christian  gospel  proclaimed  the  advent  of  the  Mes- 
sianic age,  in  which  the  evils  of  life  were  surmounted  by  the 
splendors  of  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth.  But  salva- 
tion was  not  altogether  delayed  until  Christ  returned.  In 
the  meantime  there  was  offered  to  individuals  even  a 
fuller  redemption  than  that  which  was  sought  in  the  Greek 
mysteries.  The  living  fellowship  of  the  individual  with 
Christ  gave  such  a  buoyant  sense  of  life  and  safety  that  this 
experience  explains  the  rapid  spread  of  Christianity  among 
the  Greek-speaking  people  of  the  world.  Men  were  re- 
deemed not  only  from  harsh  social  ills  and  the  fear  of 
death  but  also  from  the  slavery  of  sins  which  made 
life  wretched.  No  message  so  full  of  redemption  ever  has 
been  elsewhere  offered  the  world. 

The  Church. — The  church  as  an  organization  for  teach- 
ing and  fellowship  undoubtedly  was  an  ethically  social  fac- 
tor of  great  magnitude  in  the  first  century  of  our  era. 
These  Christian  societies  bore  enough  resemblance  to  the 
trade  and  religious  guilds  to  make  them  seem  natural  to 
Gentile  converts  and  to  enable  them  to  escape  conflict  with 

175 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

the  authorities;  but  their  religious  aims  and  experiences 
set  them  apart  from  all  other  societies  of  the  age  in  ethical 
achievement.  The  church,  in  its  services  and  through 
its  officers,  was  the  essential  vehicle  through  which  the 
Christian  message  in  its  fuller  details  reached  the  com- 
munity. No  permanent  successes  in  the  development  of 
God's  kingdom  could  have  been  possible  apart  from  church 
life.  Just  as  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion  found  the  syna- 
gogue a  necessity,  so  did  the  Christians  realize  that  only 
through  the  frequent  assembly  of  themselves  together  could 
the  glorious  fellowship  with  Christ  be  conserved.  An  iso- 
lated Christian  cannot  long  keep  his  experience. 

Christian  Literature. — Rising  Christianity  was  compelled 
to  produce  a  Christian  literature.  We  have  seen,  in  Chap- 
ter X,  the  various  situations  out  of  which  our  New-Testa- 
ment writings  came  into  being.  In  every  case  the  Epistle 
or  the  Gospel  was  written  to  fill  some  need  of  the  growing 
church.  These  books  sprang  up  out  of  the  life  of  the 
church  and,  because  they  are  an  expression  of  the  Chris- 
tian spirit  at  work  to  supply  some  human  need,  they  bear 
their  message  to  every  age.  These  Christian  writings  were 
an  exceedingly  important  contribution  to  the  developing 
Kingdom.  Like  the  church  meetings  and  officials,  they 
became  the  vehicle  through  which  the  Christian  message 
reached  wider  circles  than  the  missionaries  themselves  could 
touch.  Like  the  church,  too,  they  remain  for  succeeding 
ages  an  extraordinarily  valuable  exhibit  of  the  life-giving 
spirit  of  nascent  Christianity. 

Christian  Leaders. — The  church  of  the  first  century  gave 
the  world  some  exceedingly  fine  leaders  of  the  higher  life. 
Who  can  measure  the  unending  influence  upon  the  world 
of  Peter,  Stephen,  Philip,  Barnabas,  Mark,  Silas,  Timothy, 
Epaphras,  Titus,  Luke,  Paul,  and  John  ?  These  men  con- 
tinually hazarded  their  lives  for  Christ.  They  lived  in 
glorious  fellowship  with  Christ.  They  traversed  the  world 
of  their  day  to  proclaim  their  Christ.  They  were  the  in- 
spiration of  multiplied  thousands  of  their  fellow  men. 
Their  courage,  their  devotion,  their  sacrifices,  their  faith, 
and  their  spiritual  joys  gave  glowing  illustration  of  the 

176 


KINGDOM  MOVEMENTS 

Christian  faith.  The  Kingdom  had  come  and  was  coming 
in  them,  and  men  who  knew  them  understood  what  spirit 
and  manner  of  life  God  wanted  his  children  to  win. 

SuMMAEY :  The  Coming  Kingdom 

Principles   of  the  Highest  Civilization  Uttered. — The 

preceding  chapters  have  sketched  the  chief  religions  move- 
ments of  the  latter  two  thirds  of  the  first  century  of  our 
era.  No  more  striking  or  permanent  achievements  in  the 
realm  of  character  ever  have  been  produced  at  any  other 
period  of  the  world's  life.  The  leaders  of  Christianity  in 
the  apostolic  age  could  not  have  believed  else  than  that 
they  stood  at  the  dawn  of  God's  kingdom.  There  were 
indeed  vast  areas  of  first-century  life  which  the  Christian 
movement  did  not  touch,  but  the  work  was  so  marvelous 
that  Christian  hearts  everywhere  beat  high  with  Messianic 
hope.  The  principles  of  the  highest  civilization  were  ut- 
tered then  and  given  their  first  application  to  every  condi- 
tion of  life.  Succeeding  centuries  have  done  no  more  than 
to  apply  these  Christian  convictions  with  fuller  detail  to 
the  social  order. 

Something  New  in  the  World. — The  close  of  the  first 
century  saw  something  really  new  in  the  world.  There 
were  societies  of  men  and  women  in  hundreds  of  com- 
munities far  and  wide,  of  different  views  of  life,  modes  of 
occupation,  and  social  standing,  who  were  separated  from 
the  world  about  them  by  a  new  manner  of  life.  Out- 
wardly this  new  life  was  a  radiation  of  love  and  righteous- 
ness. Paul's  hymn  of  love  (1  Corinthians  13)  expresses 
the  new  social  spirit.  A  fraternalism  that  united  without 
friction  bond  and  free,  male  and  female,  rich  and  poor,  Jew 
and  Gentile,  was  a  noteworthy  social  achievement  which 
commands  the  admiration  of  the  world.  These  associations 
were  dominated  too  by  the  highest  ethical  ideals.  They 
were  bound  by  an  insistent  demand  for  righteousness.  The 
Christian  spirit  banned  the  common  vices  of  the  pagan 
world:  "Fornication,  uncleanness,  lasciviousness,  idolatry, 
sorcery,  enmities,  strife,  jealousies,  wraths,  factions,  divi- 
sions, parties,  envying,  drunkenness,  revelings,  and  such 

177 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

like;  of  which  I  tell  you  plainly,  as  I  did  tell  you  plainly, 
that  they  who  practice  such  things  shall  not  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God"  (Galatians  6.  19-21).  This  ideal  was  not 
reached  everywhere :  perhaps  fully  reached  nowhere.  That 
this  was  the  ideal  of  hundreds  of  societies  from  the  Jordan 
to  the  Tiber  is  a  social  fact  of  extraordinary  importance. 
A  Consciousness  of  the  Universal  Church. — These  scat- 
tered societies  were  given  additional  importance  by  an- 
other unusual  social  fact.  There  was  a  strong  sense  of 
common  interest  uniting  them  into  a  great  fraternity.  This 
bond  was  greater  than  race  antagonism,  social  inequalities, 
industrial  occupations,  and  family  ties.  The  members  of 
one  small  group,  in  recalling  that  hundreds  of  other 
churches  were  vexed  by  their  problems  and  enheartened  by 
their  triumphs,  did  not  feel  so  keenly  their  break  with  their 
former  life.  The  tension  of  their  spiritual  powers  was 
heightened  by  their  consciousness  of  the  universal  church. 

The  Fullness  of  Time 

"When  the  Fullness  of  the  Time  Came,  God  Sent  Forth 
His  Son." — Such  was  the  explanation  of  the  religious  move- 
ments of  the  apostolic  church  by  its  clearest,  most  heroic 
thinker.  How  little  thinkers  know  of  the  intimate  causes 
of  the  greatest  historical  events  !  But  Paul  knew  that  there 
were  no  sufficient  proximate  causes  of  Christ  and  the 
Apostolic  Church.  When  God  was  ready,  the  forward  move- 
ment was  inaugurated.  This  is  Paul's  philosophy  of  the 
stupendous  movements  of  which  he  was  the  foremost  leader. 
But  there  is  a  fullness  of  time,  a  chosen  moment,  for 
the  minute  details  of  life.  We  cannot  rule  out  the  divine 
direction  of  our  lives.  Running  through  all  our  wise  and 
foolish  choices  there  is  a  higher  purpose,  which  never  is 
ultimately  thwarted  and,  when  the  time  is  full,  speaks  out 
its  eternal  will.  Let  me  do  my  worst,  and  in  God's  own 
time  all  my  evil  becomes  overruled;  all  the  passion  of  my 
selfishness  becomes  a  vanished  value.  Let  me  do  my  best, 
and  lo  !  at  an  unexpected  hour  God  garners  it  with  his  eter- 
nal harvest.    God's  clock  regulates  our  lives. 

Be  Sure  of  God*s  Will. — Let  us  keep  this  conviction  that 

178 


KINGDOM  MOVEMENTS 

God  chooses  the  hour  for  brighter  dawns  in  the  world's 
life,  and  we  will  become  his  agents  in  many  a  successful 
enterprise.  Is  a  church  building  to  be  erected?  A  man 
to  be  won  into  the  body  of  Christ's  disciples?  A  more 
righteous  adjustment  of  industrial  conditions  to  be  made  ? 
A  business  partnership  to  be  formed  or  rejected?  A  resi- 
dence in  a  distant  city  to  be  considered?  A  choice  of 
political  candidates  to  be  decided  ?  A  missionary  call  to  be 
weighed  ?  There  is  but  one  certain  way  to  escape  the  wrong 
path.  We  must  be  sure  of  God's  will.  With  that  knowl- 
edge it  is  impossible  to  fail.  Does  it  not  seem  to  you  that 
the  fullness  of  the  time  has  come  for  certain  great  move- 
ments to  be  consummated  ?  Need  war  ever  again  turn  our 
earth  into  a  hell?  Can  industry  be  else  than  a  mingled 
curse  and  blessing  as  long  as  it  is  on  a  competitive  and  cap- 
italistic basis?  Is  Christianity  or  commercialism  to  cap- 
ture the  civilization  of  China  and  Africa?  How  many 
more  centuries  before  these  problems  are  to  be  solved? 
What  reasons  are  there  for  supposing  that  these  questions 
are  now  at  the  decision  hour  ? 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  In  what  way  did  the  Jews  prepare  the  way  and  help  to 
advance  the  evangel  of  the  Christ? 

2.  What  position   did  the  Jews  of  the  apostolic  age  hold 
socially?  economically?  politically? 

3.  Discuss  the  influence  in  pagan  communities  of  the  Jew- 
ish synagogue  and  school. 

4.  How  did  these  activities  help  to  propagate  the  Christian 
message? 

5.  Discuss  the  place  and  influence  of  Greek  thought  and 
language  in  the  flrst  century. 

6.  State  the  signiflcance  of  four  outstanding  Greek  religious 
ideas  that  served  as  highways  for  the  Christian  message. 

7.  What  contributions  to  the  progress  of  the  Kingdom  did 
Rome  make  during  these  years? 

8.  What  supreme  contribution  to  the  world  did  early  Chris- 
tianity make? 

9.  What  to  the  early  church  did  the  name  "Jesus"  mean? 
"Christ"?  Intimacy  with  God?    Redemption? 

10.  Discuss  the   significance  of  the  Christian  gospel   as   a 
message  of  redemption. 

179 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  REFORMEES 

11.  state  the  value  to  the  advancing  Kingdom  of  the  early- 
church;  Christian  literature;  Christian  leaders. 

12.  What  principles  of  the  highest  civilization  were  put  into 
practice  by  apostolic  Christianity? 

13.  Discuss  the  value  to  society  of  the  new  fraternalism 
inaugurated  by  followers  of  the  Christ. 

14.  To  what  extent  did  the  thought  of  a  universal  church 
encourage  and  strengthen  local  Christian  communities? 

15.  Discuss  the  power  of  the  socially  regenerative  influ- 
ences of  Christianity. 

Eeading  Eeferences 

The  Environment  of  Early  Christianity,  Angus,  pages  164- 
221. 

The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity,  Harnack,  Vol- 
ume I,  pages  1-35. 

The  Progress  of  Hellenism  in  Alexander's  Empire,  Ma- 
haffy,  pages  93-149. 

The  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches,  Ramsay,  pages  1-56. 

Article  "Mystery"  in  A  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic  Age, 
Hastings. 


180 


CHAPTER  XIV 

CHRISTIANITY'S  APPEAL  FOR  WORLD  TOLER- 
ANCE 

It  has  been  shown  that  at  the  close  of  the  first 
century  a.  d.  Christianity  was  widely  established  in 
the  Greco-Roman  world  and  that  it  had  aroused  against 
itself  the  political  power,  the  industrial  life,  and  the  social 
institutions  of  the  pagan  world.  These  antagonisms  were 
accentuated  in  the  second  century.  In  addition  to  these 
forms  of  opposition  there  were  literary  attacks  upon  the 
new  religion,  and  Christian  leaders  sought  to  meet  these 
criticisms  by  presenting  Christianity  in  ways  designed  to 
win  not  only  the  tolerance  but  also  the  acceptance  of  the 
gospel  by  Greek  and  Roman  educated  classes.  Christianity, 
through  a  series  of  brilliant  writers,  appealed  to  the  intellec- 
tual and  political  authorities  of  the  day  for  its  right  to  live 
unhampered  within  the  civil  polity  and  social  activities  of 
the  age. 

The  Apologists 

A  literary  Defense  of  Christianity. — Those  writers  who 
set  themselves  to  the  defense  of  Christianity  are  called 
apologists.  Many  of  their  writings  are  no  longer  extant. 
The  earliest  of  these  works  now  existent  is  the  apology  of 
Aristides,  which  probably  was  presented  to  the  emperor 
Hadrian  in  the  early  part  of  the  second  century.  Justin,  a 
native  of  the  ancient  Shechem,  in  Samaria,  though  a  Gen- 
tile, about  A.  D.  50  addressed  an  apology  to  the  emperor 
Antoninus  Pius.  Tatian,  a  pupil  of  Justin,  wrote  volu- 
minously; but  only  one  of  his  books.  Apology  to  the  Greeks, 
survives.  Athenagoras,  who  called  himself  "The  Assyrian," 
addressed  his  Plea  for  the  Christians  to  the  philosopher- 
emperor  Marcus  Aurelius.    Theophilus,  bishop  of  Antioch 

181 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

at  about  the  same  time,  a.  d.  180,  wrote  three  treatises,  To 
Autolycus.  The  Epistle  to  Diognetus,  wliose  author  is  un- 
known, also  belongs  to  the  last  half  of  the  second  century. 
These  were  all  written  in  Greek.  Minucius  Felix,  a  Roman 
Christian  lawyer,  wrote  his  Octavius  in  Latin  at  the  close 
of  the  second  or  the  opening  of  the  third  century.  The 
very  abundance  of  these  writers  testifies  to  the  bitterness 
of  the  antagonism  of  paganism  and  the  service  they  ren- 
dered to  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Popular  Pagan  Ideas  of  Christianity 

Minucius  Felix  States  the  Common  Charges  of  the  Gen- 
tile Populace  Against  the  New  Religion. — He  makes  his 
pagan  Caecilius  say  to  Octavius,  a  Christian : 

You  gather  together  from  the  lowest  dregs  the  more  un- 
skilled, and  women,  credulous  and,  by  the  facility  of  their 
sex,  yielding,  establish  a  herd  of  profane  conspiracy,  which 
is  leagued  together  by  mighty  meetings  and  solemn  fasts 
and  inhuman  meats;  a  people  skulking  and  shunning  the 
light,  silent  in  public,  but  garrulous  in  corners.  They  de- 
spise the  temples  as  dead  houses;  they  reject  the  gods;  they 
laugh  at  sacred  things;  wretched,  they  pity,  if  they  are 
allowed,  the  priests;  half  naked  themselves,  they  despise 
honors  and  purple  robes/ 

Caecilius  also  repeats  the  common  report  of  crimes  prac- 
ticed in  the  secret  meetings  of  the  Christians : 

They  know  one  another  by  secret  marks  and  insignia  and 
they  love  one  another  almost  before  they  know  one  another; 
everywhere  there  is  mingled  among  them  a  religious  lust. 
They  call  one  another  promiscuously  brothers  and  sisters, 
that  even  a  not-unusual  debauchery  may,  by  the  intervention 
of  that  sacred  name,  become  incestuous.' 

Caecilius  objects  to  the  Christian  mode  of  worship : 

Why  have  they  no  altars,  no  temples,  no  acknowledged 
images?  Whence  or  who  is  he  or  where  is  the  one  God, 
solitary,  desolate,  whom  no  free  people,  no  kingdoms,  and 
not  even  Roman  superstition  have  known?  The  lonely  and 
miserable  nationality  of  the  Jews   worshiped  one  God;   but 


iBook  VIII,  Chapter  VIII. 
«Book  VIII,  Chapter  IX. 

182 


APPEAL  FOR  WORLD  TOLERANCE 

they  worshiped  him  openly,  with  temples,  with  altars,  with 
victims,  and  with  ceremonies.  But  the  Christians  feign  that 
he  who  is  men's  God,  whom  they  neither  can  show  nor  behold, 
inquires  diligently  into  the  character  of  all;  that  he  runs 
about  everywhere.  They  make  him  out  to  be  troublesome, 
restless,  even  shamelessly  inquisitive,  since  he  is  present  at 
everything  that  is  done.^ 

The  attack  ends  in  a  fling  at  the  Christian  expectation  of 
the  destruction  of  the  world  and  the  belief  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body : 

It  is  a  double  evil  and  a  twofold  madness  to  denounce 
destruction  to  the  heavens  and  the  stars,  which  we  leave  just 
as  we  find  them,  and  to  promise  eternity  to  ourselves,  who 
are  dead  and  extinct. 

Theophilus  Reports  the  Conviction  of  Greek  Thinkers 
that  Christianity  Is  Without  Philosophical  Standing. — 

In  his  third  tractate  To  Autolycus  he  summarizes  the  views 
of  Christianity  held  by  those  who  made  pretense  of  learn- 
ing: 

Godless  lips  falsely  accuse  us  who  are  worshipers  of  God 
and  are  called  Christians  that  .  .  .  our  doctrine  has  but 
recently  come  to  light;  that  we  have  nothing  to  allege  in 
proof  of  what  we  receive  as  truth,  nor  of  our  teaching,  but 
that  our  doctrine  is  foolishness.* 

Justin  Martyr  Indicates  the  Unjust  Attitude  of  the 
Government. — He  points  out  the  unjust  hatred  and  wanton 
abuse  of  the  Roman  administration  of  justice.  To  bear  the 
name  of  Christian,  apart  from  any  proved  evil  action,  is  a 
crime : 

Those  among  yourselves  who  are  accused,  you  do  not  pun- 
ish before  they  are  convicted;  but  in  our  case  you  receive 
the  name  as  proof  against  us.  If  any  of  the  accused  deny 
the  name  and  say  that  he  is  not  a  Christian,  you  acquit  him; 
but  if  anyone  acknowledge  that  he  is  a  Christian,  you  punish 
him.  Justice  requires  that  you  inquire  into  the  life  both  of 
him  who  confesses  and  of  him  who  denies,  that  by  his  deeds 
it  may  be  apparent  which  kind  of  man  each  is.^ 


» Book  VIII,  Chapter  X. 

<  Chapter  IV. 

^ First  Apology,  Chapter  IV. 

183 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

The  Defense  of  Christianity 

The  False  Charges  Met  by  a  Strong  Literary  Defense. — 

Many  writers  met  these  absurd,  mistaken,  and  half-in- 
formed opinions  of  the  pagan  world  with  a  voluminous, 
apologetic  literary  defense  of  the  new  religion.  Their  writ- 
ings are  worthy  the  study  of  the  modern  Christian  not  only 
for  a  better  understanding  of  the  historical  origin  of  Chris- 
tian theology  but  also  for  their  literary  charm  and  the 
thoughtful  religious  insight  and  devoutness  of  their  au- 
thors^ lives. 

The  Charge  of  Disloyalty  to  the  Government. — Justin 
Martyr  strongly  denies  the  charge  of  disloyalty  to  the  state 
and  obedience  to  the  civil  authorities : 

Everywhere  we,  more  readily  than  all  men,  endeavor  to 
pay  to  those  appointed  by  you  the  taxes  both  ordinary  and 
extraordinary,  as  we  have  been  taught  by  Christ.  To  God 
alone  we  render  worship  but  in  other  things  we  gladly  serve 
you  [the  emperors],  acknowledging  you  as  kings  and  rulers 
of  men." 

Athenagoras  ends  his  Plea  for  the  Christians,  addressed  to 
the  emperors  Marcus  Aurelius  and  Commodus,  as  follows: 

Who  are  more  deserving  to  obtain  the  things  they  ask  than 
those  who,  like  us,  pray  for  your  government,  that  you  may, 
as  is  most  equitable,  receive  the  kingdom  son  from  father,  and 
that  your  empire  may  receive  increase  and  addition,  all  men 
becoming  subject  to  your  sway?  And  this  is  also  for  your 
advantage — that  we  may  lead  a  peaceable  and  quiet  life  and 
may  ourselves  readily  perform  all  that  is  commanded  of  us.^ 

The  Charge  of  Immorality. — This  was  the  most  popular, 
widely  repeated,  and  readily  believed  charge  against  the 
Christians.  The  secret  character  of  their  meetings,  the 
prevalent  immorality  of  the  pagan  world,  and  the  fact  that 
pagan  religion  laid  no  moral  demands  upon  its  devotees 
made  these  unfounded  accusations  easily  believable  among 
the  populace. 

(a)   Theophilus. — After  a  discussion  of  the  Ten  Com- 


^ First  Apology,  Chapter  XVII. 
7  Chapter  XXXVII. 


184 


APPEAL  FOR  WORLD  TOLERANCE 

mandments,  humanity  to  strangers,  repentance,  righteous- 
ness, chastity,  and  love,  Theophilus  writes : 

Consider  whether  those  who  teach  such  things  can  possibly 
live  indifferently  and  be  commingled  in  unlawful  intercourse 
or,  most  impious  of  all,  eat  human  flesh.  ,  .  .  Far  be  it 
from  Christians  to  conceive  any  such  deeds.  For  with  them 
temperance  dwells,  monogamy  is  observed,  chastity  is  guarded, 
iniquity  exterminated,  sin  extirpated,  righteousness  exercised, 
law  administered,  worship  performed,  God  acknowledged; 
truth  governs,  grace  guards,  peace  screens  men;  the  holy 
Word  guides,  wisdom  teaches,  life  directs,  God  reigns.^ 

(6)  Minucius  Felix. — In  his  debate  between  C^cilius  the 
pagan  and  Octavius  the  Christian,  Minucius  Felix  places  in 
the  latter's  reply  to  the  charges  advanced  by  Caecilius  the 
following  beautiful  defense  of  Christian  brotherhood : 

"We  maintain  our  modesty  not  in  appearance,  but  in  our 
heart  we  gladly  abide  by  the  bond  of  a  single  marriage.  We 
practice  sharing  in  banquets,  which  are  not  only  modest  but 
also  sober;  for  we  do  not  indulge  in  entertainments  nor 
prolong  our  feasts  with  wine,  but  we  temper  our  joyous- 
ness  with  gravity  and  with  chaste  discourse.  We  are  assem- 
bled together  with  the  same  quietness  with  which  we  live  as 
individuals.  We  do  not  distinguish  our  people  by  some  small 
bodily  mark,  as  you  suppose,  but  easily  enough  by  the  sign 
of  innocence  and  modesty.  Thus  we  love  one  another,  to 
your  regret,  with  a  mutual  love  because  we  do  not  know  liow 
to  hate.  We  call  one  another,  to  your  envy,  brethren,  as 
being  men  born  of  one  God  and  parent,  companions  in  faith 
and  fellow  heirs  in  hope. 

The  Charge  of  Atheism. —  (a)  Theophilus  meets  the 
charge  of  atheism,  by  showing  first,  that  the  pagan  world 
itself  is  without  true  faith  in  God;  and,  second,  that  the 
Christians  are  upheld  by  a  pure  and  unfaltering  confidence 
in  him : 

(1)  For  after  they  [Greek  historians,  poets,  and  philoso- 
phers] had  said  that  there  are  gods  they  again  made  them 
of  no  account,  for  some  said  that  they  were  composed  of 
atoms,  and  others,  again,  that  they  eventuate  into  atoms; 
and  they  say  that  the  gods  have  no  more  power  than  men. 
Plato,  though  he  says  there  are  gods,  would  have  them 
composed  of  matter.     Pythagoras,  after  he  had  made  such  a 


sBooklll,  ChatperXV. 

185 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

toil  and  moil  about  the  gods  and  traveled  up  and  down  for 
information,  at  last  determines  that  all  things  are  produced 
naturally  and  spontaneously,  and  that  the  gods  care  nothing 
for  men.  .  .  .  (2)  Now,  we  also  confess  that  God  exists 
but  that  he  is  one,  the  Creator,  Maker,  and  Fashioner  of  this 
universe;  and  we  know  that  all  things  are  arranged  by  his 
providence." 

(b)  Athenagoras  follows  the  same  line  of  argument.  He 
calls  attention  to  the  Greek  atheist,  Diagoras,  who  "pub- 
lished the  mysteries  of  Eleusis,  chopped  up  the  wooden 
statue  of  Hercules  to  boil  his  turnips,  and  openly  declared 
there  was  no  God  at  all." 

But  to  us,  [he  asks]  who  distinguish  God  from  matter 
and  teach  that  Deity  is  uncreated  and  eternal,  to  be  held  by 
as  understanding  and  reason  alone,  is  it  not  absurd  to  apply 
the  name  of  atheism?  If  our  sentiments  were  like  those  of 
Diagoras,  with  reason  might  our  reputation  for  impiety,  as 
well  as  the  cause  for  our  being  thus  harassed,  be  charged 
upon  ourselves.  But  since  our  doctrine  acknowledges  one 
God,  the  Maker  of  this  universe,  we  are  both  defamed  and 
persecuted.^" 

The  Charge  of  Novelty  of  the  Christian  Religion. — 

(a)  Tatian  met  the  charge  that  Christianity  was  a  new, 
untried,  presumptuous  religion  by  identifying  it  in  essence 
with  the  Old  Testament  and  proving  to  his  satisfaction  that 
the  Mosaic  legislation  was  older  than  the  most  revered 
Greek  philosophy. 

(b)  Justin  Martyr  carried  Christianity  into  far  earlier 
times  than  the  birth  of  Christ.  He  claimed  that  among 
other  races,  as  well  as  among  the  Hebrews,  Christ,  long  be- 
fore his  appearance  in  Judea,  was  the  indwelling  spirit  of 
all  good  men.  He  boldly  claimed  that  the  best  in  Greek 
philosophy  is  a  borrowing  from  Christianity. 

The  Attack  Upon  Paganism 
The  Apologists  All  Attack  Pagan  Religion. — Each  of  the 
Christian  writers  takes  a  fling  at  the  absurdities,  immorali- 
ties, and  the  shallowness  of  pagan  religious  ideas.     The 
idols  in  common  use  were  made  by  men,  the  deities  they 

9  Book  III,  Chapters  VII.  IX. 

10  Chapter  IV. 

186 


APPEAL  FOR  WORLD  TOLERANCE 

represent  were  originated  by  the  poets,  and  the  profligacy 
of  the  gods  makes  it  impossible  to  venerate  them.  These 
foolish  and  immoral  beliefs  are  the  suggestions  of  evil 
demons.  Such  varied  and  contrary  notions  are  held  of  the 
gods  by  their  pagan  worshipers  that  intelligent  men  are 
precluded  from  honoring  such  deities. 

Theophilus  Points  Out  the  Absurdities  of  Idolatry. — 
The  absurdities  of  idolatry  are  thus  set  forth  by 
Theophilus : 

In  truth  it  does  seem  to  me  absurd  that  statuaries  and 
carvers,  painters,  or  molders  should  both  design  and  paint, 
carve,  and  mold,  and  prepare  gods  who,  when  they  are  pro- 
duced by  the  artificers  are  reckoned  of  no  value;  but  as  soon 
as  they  are  purchased  and  placed  in  some  so-called  temple 
or  in  some  house,  not  only  do  those  who  brought  them  but 
also  those  who  made  and  sold  them  come  with  much  devo- 
tion and  apparatus  of  sacrifice  and  libations  to  worship 
them." 

Athenagoras  Exposes  the  Weakness  of  Pagan  Theology. 

— He  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  statues  of  the 
gods  are  not  deities;  they  have  been  made  by  men.  The 
gods  themselves  are  not  eternal.  Homer  speaks  of  "Old 
Oceanus,  the  sire  of  the  gods."  Nonsensical  and  ridicu- 
lous forms  are  ascribed  to  the  gods :  they  say  Hercules  is  a 
god  in  the  shape  of  a  dragon  coiled  up.  Detestable  achieve- 
ments are  ascribed  to  the  gods :  Kronos,  for  instance,  mu- 
tilated his  father  and  hurled  him  down  from  his  chariot. 
The  gods  are  guilty  of  impure  loves :  Venus  is  the  mother 
of  ^neas.  It  is  said  that  these  statements  of  the  poets  are 
symbols :  that  Zeus,  for  example,  is  fire,  and  Hera  the  earth. 
In  such  case  the  gods  are  nothing  but  aspects  of  nature. 
This  reduces  the  whole  pretended  order  of  divine  beings 
into  nothingness.  Paganism  is  shut  up  to  atheism  or  to  an 
immoral  and  unworshipful  race  of  deities. 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  Cause  of  Persecution  and  Calumny. — As  the  church 
grew  in  numbers  and  in  extent  throughout  the  empire,  the 

"Book  II,  Chapter  II. 

187 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Christians  were  subjected  to  persecution  and  calumny. 
Governors  exercised  their  police  powers  largely  according  to 
their  own  disposition  toward  the  new  religion.  It  was  easy 
for  the  unthinking,  sensual-minded  to  distort  the  secret 
meetings,  the  common  meals,  the  fraternal  greetings,  the 
severe  appearance  of  morality,  and  the  lack  of  temples  and 
sacrifices  into  immoral  practices  and  godless  beliefs.  To 
the  Greek  thinker  Christianity  was  an  upstart  faith,  with 
no  philosophical  standing  and  living  in  the  credulity  of  the 
masses. 

The  Apologists  Pleaded  for  Justice  in  the  Roman  Courts. 
— These  apologists  insisted  that  a  new  religion  did  not  make 
them  wicked  citizens  and  demanded  that  their  trials  should 
take  cognizance  of  character,  and  not  of  ill-founded  and 
unjust  prejudices  against  a  name.  They  denied  disloyalty 
to  the  state.  They  indignantly  repudiated  the  slanders  of 
crimes  and  immoralities.  They  bared  to  the  world  the 
secrets  of  their  services.  "Our  assemblies  are  not  drunken 
orgies,"  says  Justin  Martyr,  "but  meetings  for  prayer,  for 
baptism  of  novitiates,  for  participation  in  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, for  thanksgivings  and  exhortations  for  holy  liv- 
ing, for  collection  of  alms  for  widows  and  orphans,  for 
the  sick  and  the  impoverished  and  the  stranger  among  us.'' 
It  was  a  great  dishonor  and  injustice  for  Rome  to  persecute 
and  kill  such  noble-minded  citizens.  The  apologists 
plead  for  justice,  for  the  right  of  such  a  body  of  high- 
souled  men  and  women  within  the  social  life  of  the  state. 

The  Apologists  Also  Sought  to  Meet  the  Slurs  of  Greek 
Philosophers. — This  was  done  by  presenting  Christianity 
as  a  philosophy.  All  truth,  according  to  the  apologists,  is 
revealed  truth;  hence,  Christianity,  which  finds  its  out- 
lines in  the  predictions  of  the  Old  Testament,  is  the 
true  and  highest  philosophy.  It  was  no  new  thing  forcing 
its  way  into  the  world ;  no  parvenu  when  Moses  was  a  Chris- 
tian, and  Plato  plagiarized  from  Genesis.  Whatever  may 
be  the  permanent  value  of  this  argument,  it  undoubtedly 
met  the  needs  of  the  second  century.  Christianity  was 
pressing  its  way  out  of  a  barbarian  people  into  the  cultured 
Greek  and  Roman  world.    It  had  to  make  good  its  intellec- 

188 


APPEAL  FOR  WORLD  TOLERANCE 

tual  rights  to  the  deference  of  the  pagan  mind  in  order  to 
win  its  heritage  in  that  day. 

The  Apologists'  Greatest  Success. — Perhaps  the  greatest 
advantage  was  won  by  the  apologists  for  the  Christians 
themselves.  It  was  made  clear  to  them  that  absolute  purity 
of  morals  was  necessary  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  pagan 
world.  Pagan  criticism  was  conducive  to  Christian  cir- 
cumspection of  their  own  lives.  Accusations  made  the 
Christian  brotherhoods  more  compact  and  enriched  the 
social  consciousness  for  maligned  followers  of  Christ.  Then, 
too,  they  learned  to  feel  the  intellectual  strength  of  their 
faith.  Such  experiences  gave  them  a  new  sense  of  the  se- 
curity of  their  beliefs  and  made  them  the  more  confident  to 
propagate  their  religion.  The  church,  in  passing  through 
the  apologetic  age,  won  a  new  confidence  in  itself,  a  more 
extensive  theology,  and  new  weapons  for  its  glorious  war- 
fare to  conquer  the  world. 

Twentieth-Century  Apologetics 

Learn  to  Appreciate  the  Intellectual  Standing  of  Chris- 
tianity.— No  learning  can  justly  hurl  sarcasms  at  the  irra- 
tionality of  the  Christian  scheme  of  life.  It  justifies  itself 
at  the  bar  of  the  highest  intelligence.  It  is  as  reasonable 
as  science.  To  become  a  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  to 
stultify  the  mind.  Christ  tremendously  challenges  the 
thought  life  of  any  age,  and  wherever  men  truly  think,  life 
will  inevitably  shape  itself  to  the  forms  which  were  given 
it  by  Jesus.  Faith  has  no  quarrel  with  reason.  "Come, 
now,  let  us  reason  together,"  is  ever  the  invitation  of  Chris- 
tianity to  the  non-Christian  world.  Believe  that  no  true 
thinking  ever  will  weaken  the  foundations  of  your  faith 
in  Christ  and  God. 

Every  Christian  an  Apologist. — It  is  the  duty  of  every 
Christian  to  be  an  apologist.  Christian  apology  is  the  earn- 
est and  studied  commendation  of  the  ideals  and  life  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  the  indifferent  and  doubting.  It  is  your  great 
privilege  to  give  "a  reason  concerning  the  hope  that  is  in 
you."  No  opportunity  for  happiness  can  ever  compare 
with  the  passing  on  to  other  lives  the  secret  of  your  own 

189 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

peace  and  joy.  Remember  that  the  kingdom  of  God  will 
not  come  by  the  passing  of  laws  but  by  the  setting  up  of 
ideals.  You  can  do  much  for  your  country  by  your  ballot 
but  you  can  do  vastly  more  by  your  daily  chances  to  com- 
mend the  Christ  you  know  to  the  spiritually  poor  among 
your  acquaintances. 

The  Apologetic  of  Christian  Fraternalism. — The  most 
powerful  Christian  apologetic  is  Christian  fraternalism. 
Every  vigorous  and  effective  revival  of  Christian  life  has  de- 
veloped within  a  quickened  consciousness  of  brotherhood. 
Methodism,  beginning  as  a  students'  club  at  Oxford  College, 
speedily  expressed  its  dominant  spirit  of  philanthropic  and 
evangelistic  sympathies  for  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  sin- 
ful. Foreign  missions  began  as  an  expression  of  the  pro- 
foundest  Christian  feeling  after  universal  brotherhood. 
Every  true  growth  of  fraternalism  gives  birth  to  evangelis- 
tic zeal  and  active  social  ministry.  The  beginning  of  all 
new  and  triumphant  advances  of  Christianity  will  be  condi- 
tioned by  the  range  and  intensity  of  our  fellowship  with  our 
fellow  men. 

Look  for  the  Good  in  Men. — Justin  Martyr  saw  Christ  in 
Socrates.  John  saw  the  divine  light  shining  in  "every  man 
coming  into  the  world.''  To  see  the  best  in  the  worst  of 
men  is  the  basis  of  all  social  ministry,  all  missionary  evan- 
gelism. If  you  count  men  utterly  depraved,  you  have 
robbed  yourself  of  your  chief  social  power — sympathy  and 
hope.  Claim  everything  good  for  Jesus  Christ.  There  is 
only  one  God,  and  "he  left  not  himself  without  witness"  in 
every  creed,  in  every  race,  in  every  blind  seeking  after 
happiness. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  Why  did  it  seem  necessary  to  produce  a  literary  de- 
fense of  Christianity  in  the  second  and  third  centuries? 

2.  Why  did  the  secret  meetings  of  the  Christians  cause 
their  motive  to  be  misunderstood? 

3.  What  charges  were  made  against  them  according  to 
Minucius  Felix?  Theophilus?  Justin  Martyr? 

4.  How  was  the  charge  of  disloyalty  to  the  government  met? 
the  charge  of  immorality? 

190 


APPEAL  FOR  WOELD  TOLERANCE 

5.  In  what  way  did  Theophilus  and  Athenagoras  meet  the 
charge  of  atheism? 

6.  To  what  extent  was  Tatian  correct  in  claiming  the  phil- 
osophy of  Christianity  to  be  older  than  Greek  philosophy? 

7.  What  place  did  Justin  Martyr  claim  for  Christ  in  Gentile 
lands? 

8.  Discuss  the  counter  charges  brought  against  paganism 
by  the  Christian  writers. 

9.  Discuss  pagan  idolatry  and  theology.  Wherein  were  both 
weak? 

10.  State  the  questions  upon  which  the  apologists  made  a 
firm  stand  for  the  rights  of  Christians. 

11.  How  were  the  slurs  of  the  Greek  philosophers  met? 
With  what  success? 

12.  What  great  benefits  were  conferred  upon  Christian 
thinking  and  life  by  the  work  of  the  apologists? 

Reading  References 

The  Church  of  the  Fathers,  Pullan,  Chapter  VI 

A  History  of  the  Study  of  Theology,  Briggs,  Volume  I,  pages 
70-81. 

The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  Ramsay,  Chapter  XV. 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  II,  Chap- 
ter III. 

A  Source  Book  for  Ancient  Church  History,  Ayer,  pages 
69-75. 

The  Ante-Nicene  Christian  Library,  Volume  II,  pages  1-69, 
contains  the  first  apology  of  Justin,  addressed  to  the  emperor 
Antoninus  Pius.  Pages  325-421  give  A  Plea  for  the  Chris- 
tians, written  by  Athenagoras  and  addressed  to  the  emperor 
Marcus  Aurelius. 


191 


CHAPTEE  XV 

THE  ETHICAL  TASK  OF  CHKISTIANITY 

Christianity  began  with  the  unfaltering  consciousness 
that  religion  and  moral  conduct  are  inseparable.  It  ad- 
vanced into  a  world  where  religion  and  morality  were 
divorced.  It  was  the  unswerving  insistence  that  religion 
required  righteousness,  justice,  and  purity  in  human  life 
which  embittered  the  antagonism  of  paganism  toward 
Christianity.  If  Christianity  was  to  keep  its  lofty  char- 
acter it  could  not  triumph  in  the  pagan  world  until  it  had 
transformed  the  morals  of  paganism.  Therefore,  Christi- 
anity faced  a  heroic  ethical  task  in  order  to  win  toler- 
ance and  triumph. 

Moral  Conditions  in  the  Eoman  World 

Pagan  Critics. — The  nobler-minded  pagans  were  pro- 
foundly aware  that  their  civilization  had  fallen  upon  evil 
times  in  those  decades  in  which  Christianity  was  making 
its  way  into  the  towns  and  cities  of  the  empire. 

(a)  Tacitus  (a.  d,  55-117),  who  wrote  a  history  of  the 
reigns  of  Galba,  Otho,  Vitellius,  Vespasian,  Titus,  and 
Domitian,  gives  a  distressing  picture  of  Eoman  conditions 
during  these  years  from  69  to  96.  It  will  be  recalled  that 
Hebrews  and  Eevelation  fall  within  this  period: 

The  subject  now  before  me  presents  a  series  of  great  events 
and  battles  fierce  and  bloody;  a  portion  of  time  big  with 
intestine  divisions  and  even  the  interests  of  peace  deformed 
with  cruelty  and  horror;  the  whole  a  tragic  volume,  display- 
ing in  succession  four  princes  put  to  death;  three  civil 
wars;  with  foreign  enemies  in  great  number.  .  .  .  We  shall 
see  Italy  overwhelmed  with  calamities;  new  wounds  inflicted, 
and  the  old,  which  time  had  closed,  opened  again  and  bleed- 
ing afresh;  cities  sacked  by  the  enemy  or  swallowed  up  by 
earthquakes;  Rome  laid  waste  by  fire;  her  ancient  and  most 
venerable  temples  smoking  on  the  ground;  the  capitol  wrapped 

192 


ETHICAL  TASK  OF  CHEISTIANITY 

in  flames  by  the  hands  of  frantic  citizens;  the  holy  ceremo- 
nies  of  religion  violated;  adultery  reigning  without  control; 
the  adjacent  islands  filled  with  exiles;  rocks  and  desert  places 
stained  with  clandestine  murder,  and  Rome  itself  a  theater 
of  horror;  where  nobility  of  descent  and  splendor  of  fortune 
marked  men  out  for  destruction;  where  the  vigor  of  mind  that 
aimed  at  civil  dignities  and  the  modesty  that  declined  them 
were  offenses  without  distinction;  where  virtue  was  a  crime 
that  led  to  certain  ruin;  .  .  .  where  nothing  was  sacred, 
nothing  safe  from  the  hand  of  rapacity;  where  slaves  were 
suborned  or,  by  their  own  malevolence,  were  excited  against 
their  masters;  where  freedmen  betrayed  their  patrons;  and 
he  who  had  lived  without  an  enemy  died  by  the  treachery 
of  a  friend.* 

(h)  Suetonius,  who  lived  in  the  first  part  of  the  second 
century,  composed  a  history  of  the  Caesars.  Of  Domitian 
he  says: 

His  cruelties  were  not  only  excessive  but  subtle  and  unex- 
pected. The  day  before  he  crucified  a  collector  of  his  rents 
he  sent  for  him  into  his  bedchamber,  made  him  sit  down 
upon  the  bed  by  him,  and  sent  him  away  well  pleased  and, 
so  far  as  could  be  inferred  from  his  treatment,  in  a  state  of 
perfect  security.  .  .  .  The  estates  of  the  living  and  the 
dead  were  sequestered  upon  any  accusation  by  whomsoever 
preferred.  The  unsupported  allegation  of  any  one  person 
relative  to  a  word  or  action  construed  to  affect  the  dignity  of 
the  emperor  was  sufficient.  Inheritances,  to  which  he  had 
not  the  slightest  pretension,  were  confiscated  if  there  was 
found  so  much  as  one  person  to  say  he  had  heard  from  the 
deceased  when  living  "that  he  had  made  the  emperor  his 
heir."  .  .  .  Not  to  go  into  details,  after  he  had  made  free 
with  the  wives  of  many  men  of  distinction,  he  took  Domitia 
Longina  from  her  husband  and  married  her.^ 

(c)  Pliny  (died  a.  D.  113),  a  man  of  letters,  an  inti- 
mate friend  of  the  emperor  Trajan,  thus  speaks  of  con- 
ditions in  the  latter  part  of  the  first  century  : 

I  attended  in  my  youth  the  senate,  but  a  senate  shrinking 
and  speechless;  where  it  was  dangerous  to  utter  one's  opin- 
ion, and  mean  and  pitiable  to  be  silent.  What  pleasure  was 
there  in  learning,  or,  indeed,  what  could  be  learned  when  the 
senate  was  convened  either  to  do  nothing  whatever  or  to 
give  their  sanction  to  some  consummate  infamy?  when  they 

^The  History,  Book  I,  Chapter  II. 
^Chapters  I,  XI,  XII. 

193 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

were  assembled  for  cruel  or  ridiculous  purposes,  and  when 
their   deliberations   were   never   serious    though   aften    sad?' 

(d)  Juvenal  (a.  d.  60-140),  an  eminent  Roman  poet, 
keenly  satirizes  the  evils  of  the  early  second  century : 

Luxury,  more  ruthless  than  war,  broods  over  Rome  and 
exacts  vengeance  for  a  conquered  world.  No  guilt  or  deed  of 
lust  is  wanting  since  Roman  poverty  has  disappeared.  Money, 
the  nurse  of  debauchery,  was  the  first  that  introduced  foreign 
manners  and  enervating  riches  sopped  the  sinews  of  the  age 
with  foul  luxury.  For  what  cares  Venus  in  her  cups,  who 
at  midnight  devours  huge  oysters,  mixes  unguents  with  neat 
Falernian  foam,  drains  the  largest  drinking  bowl?  From 
her  dizziness  the  roof  seems  to  reel,  and  the  table  to  rise 
up  with  lights  doubled  in  number.  So,  then,  and  knowing 
all  this,  doubt,  if  you  can,  with  what  a  snort  of  scorn  Tullia 
snuffs  up  the  air  when  she  passes  the  ancient  altar  of 
chastity.* 

Then  is  he  [that  is,  the  average  Roman  householder]  happy 
indeed  whenever  the  torturer  is  summoned,  and  some  poor 
wretch  is  branded  with  the  glowing  iron  for  stealing  a  couple 
of  fowls.  What  doctrine  does  he  preach  to  his  son,  who  revels 
in  the  clank  of  chains,  that  feels  a  strange  delight  in  branded 
slaves  and  the  miserable  slave  dungeons?  Do  you  expect 
that  Larga's  daughter  will  not  turn  out  an  adulteress,  who 
could  not  possibly  repeat  her  mother's  lovers  without  taking 
breath  at  least  thirty  times?' 

Christian  Views  of  Pagan  Morals. — After  these  views 
of  the  pagans  themselves  upon  the  wretched  state  of  morals 
the  statements  of  Christian  writers  concerning  the  degen- 
eracy of  pagan  society  will  not  appear  unjust: 

(a)  Justin  Martyr  (about  a.  d.  150)  reproaches  pagan 
society  with  the  crime  of  abandonment  of  infants,  leaving 
them  to  perish,  or,  what  is  more  likely,  to  be  reared  by 
procurers  of  lust : 

We  see  that  almost  all  exposed  children,  not  only  the  girls 
but  also  the  boys,  are  brought  up  to  prostitution.  As  the 
ancients  are  said  to  have  reared  herds  of  oxen,  goats,  sheep, 
and  grazing  horses,  so  now  we  see  you  rear  children  only 
for  this  shameful  use;  and  for  this  pollution  a  multitude  of 
females  and  those  who  commit  unmentionable  iniquities  are 


»Book  VIII,  Letter  14. 
^Condensed  from  Satire  VI. 
^Satire  XIV. 

194 


ETHICAL  TASK  OF  CHEISTIANITY 

found  in  every  nation,  and  you  receive  the  hire  of  these  and 
duty  and  taxes  from  them,  whom  you  ought  to  exterminate 
from  your  realm.  There  are  some  who  prostitute  even 
their  own  children,  and  some  are  openly  mutilated  for  the 
purposes  of  sodomy." 

(b)  Athenagoras  (about  a.  d.  175)  declares  that  the 
pagans  reveled  in  the  moral  atrocities  of  which  they  ac- 
cuse the  Christians : 

Those  who  have  set  up  a  market  for  fornication  and  estab- 
lished infamous  resorts  for  the  young  for  every  kind  of  vile 
pleasure — males  with  males  committing  shocking  abomina- 
tions— revile  us  for  the  very  things  they  do  themselves.  These 
adulterers  and  paederists  defame  the  eunuchs  and  the  once 
married  [that  is,  the  Christians,  who  do  not  marry  or,  the 
marriage  being  dissolved  by  death,  do  not  remarry]  while 
they  themselves  live  like  fishes,  gulping  down  whatever  falls 
in  their  wayJ 

(c)  Clement  of  Alexandria,  a  learned,  liberal  Chris- 
tian scholar,  writing  about  a.  d.  200,  berates  the  luxury 
that  has  undermined  morals.  He  likens  the  women  of 
wealth  in  his  city  to  Egyptian  temples,  splendidly  adorned 
without  but  nothing  worthy  of  respect  within : 

Those  women  who  wear  gold,  occupying  themselves  in 
curling  their  locks,  anointing  their  cheeks,  painting  their 
eyes,  dyeing  their  hair,  and,  practicing  other  pernicious  acts 
of  luxury  to  attract  their  infatuated  lovers,  imitate  the  Egyp- 
tians. But  if  one  withdraw  the  veil  of  the  temple — the  head- 
dress, the  dye,  the  gold,  the  paint,  and  the  cosmetics — he 
will  find  that  a  fornicator  and  adulteress  has  occupied  the 
shrine  of  the  soul.  Such  women  care  little  for  keeping  at 
home  with  their  husbands;  but,  loosing  their  husbands' 
purse  strings,  they  spend  its  supplies  on  their  lusts.  The 
day  they  spend  on  their  toilet;  in  the  evening  this  spurious 
beauty  creeps  out  to  candlelight  as  out  of  a  hole.  Drunken- 
ness and  the  dimness  of  the  light  aid  what  they  have  put  on. 
As  you  might  expect,  they  become  lazy  in  housekeeping,  sit- 
ting like  painted  things  to  be  looked  at.  If  the  god  of  wealth 
is  blind,  are  not  these  women,  who  are  crazy  about  him, 
blind  too?  Having  no  limit  to  their  lust,  they  push  on  to 
shamelessness.  For  the  theater,  pageants,  many  spectacles, 
strolling  in  the  temples,  and  loitering  in  the  streets  that  they 


•  First  Apology,  Chapter  XXVII. 

'A  Plea  for  the  Christiana,  Chapter  XXIV. 

195 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

may  be  seen  conspicuously  by  all,  is  necessary  to  them.  As 
the  brand  shows  the  slave,  so  do  gaudy  colors  the  adulteress. 
These  women  are  carried  about  over  the  temples,  spending 
their  time  with  fortune-tellers,  begging  priests,  and  disrepu- 
table old  women,  to  the  ruin  of  their  nuptial  bonds.  Some 
men  they  keep;  by  others  they  are  kept;  and  others  are 
promised  them  by  the  diviners.  They  know  that  they  are 
exchanging  their  purity  for  the  foulest  outrage,  but  they 
think  what  is  the  most  shameful  ruin  a  .great  stroke  of 
business.* 

(d)  Tertullian  (a.  d.  160-230),  who  lived  in  Rome  and 
in  Carthage,  makes  references  to  the  social  evils  against 
which  Christianity  pitted  its  faith  and  moral  energy. 
(1)  Cruel  sports  and  punishments  were  practiced.  Crim- 
inals, sentenced  to  die,  were  compelled  to  enact  some  violent 
death  upon  the  stage : 

We  have  witnessed  in  a  mutilated  criminal  your 
god  Attis;  a  wretch  burnt  alive  has  personated  Hercules. 
We  have  laughed  at  the  sport  of  your  midday  games  of  the 
gods  when  Father  Pluto  drags  away,  hammer  in  hand,  the 
remains  of  the  gladiators;  when  Mercury,  with  his  winged 
cap  and  heated  wand,  tests  with  his  cautery  whether  the 
bodies  were  really  lifeless  or  feigning  death.' 

(2)  Infanticide  and  the  exposure  of  infants  were  com- 
mon in  this  corrupt  age: 

Although  you  are  forbidden  by  the  law  to  slay  newborn 
infants,  it  so  happens  that  no  laws  are  evaded  with  more 
impunity  or  greater  safety,  with  the  deliberate  knowledge 
of  the  public  and  the  suffrages  of  this  entire  age.  .  .  .  You 
expose  them  to  the  cold  and  hunger  and  to  wild  beasts  or 
else  you  get  rid  of  them  by  drowning.'" 

(3)  Tertullian  also  charges  the  Gentile  world  with  the 
greatest  perversion  of  the  sexual  passion: 

Most  Gentile  women,  noble  in  extraction  and  wealthy 
in  property,  unite  themselves  indiscriminately  with  the  ig- 
noble and  the  mean,  sought  out  for  themselves  for  luxurious 
or  mutilated  for  licentious  purposes.  Some  take  up  with 
their  own  freedmen  and  slaves,  despising  public  opinion,  pro- 


*  Condensed  from  The  Instructor. 
»  To  the  Nations,  Chapter  X. 
wJWd.,  Chapter  XV. 

196 


ETRICAL  TASK  OF  CHEISTIANITY 

vided    they   may    have    husbands    from    whom    they    fear    no 
impediment  to  their  own  liberty." 

(4)   Extravagance   and  luxury  for   Tertullian   are   the 
signs  of  Roman  decay : 

What  has  become  of  the  laws  repressing  expensive  and 
ostentatious  ways  of  living?  which  forbade  more  than  a 
hundred  asses  [$1.04]  to  be  expended  on  a  supper?  which 
put  down  theaters  as  quickly  as  they  arose  to  debauch  the 
manners  of  the  people?  Suppers  now  have  a  hundred  ses- 
tertia  [$4,000]  expended  on  them.  .  .  .  Now,  women  have 
every  member  of  the  body  laden  with  gold;  winebibbing  is 
so  common  with  them  that  the  kiss**  is  never  offered  with 
their  will;  and  as  for  divorce,  they  long  for  it  as  though  it 
were  the  natural  consequence  of  marriage.'' 

The  Moral  Triumph  of  Christianity 

Christianity  Contributed  to  the  Regeneration  of  So- 
ciety.— Pagan  and  Christian  writers  alike  bear  witness  to 
the  decay  of  the  social  order  of  Roman  civilization  of  the 
first  and  second  centuries.  It  is  a  social  fact  of  supreme  im- 
portance that  Christianity,  making  its  way  into  the  midst 
of  these  decadent  generations,  contributed  so  greatly  to  the 
regeneration  of  both  the  individual  and  the  institutions  of 
the  Roman  world. 

Lucian  Reflects  the  Cultured  Greek-Roman  View. — Lu- 
cian,  a  rhetorician  and  satirist  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
second  century,  in  his  Death  of  Peregrine,  reflects  the  cul- 
tured Greek-Roman  view  of  Christianity  prevalent  in  his 
day  among  those  who  doubted  all  religion.  But  in  pre- 
senting Christianity  in  this  way  he  bears  unconscious  tes- 
timony to  those  moral  qualities  which  made  Christianity 
a  conquering  religion.  Lucian  represents  Peregrine  as  a 
knave  who  dupes  the  Christians : 

It  was  now  that  he  came  across  the  Christians  in  Pales- 
tine and  picked  up  their  queer  creed.  He  pretty  soon  con- 
vinced them  of  his  superiority.  The  end  of  it  was  that 
Peregrine  was  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison.    He  was  now 

li  To  His  Wife,  Chapter  VIII. 

1-  It  was  once  the  custom  of  Roman  women  to  kiaa  their  relatives,  that  any  use 
of  wine  on  their  part  might  be  detected. 
«  Apology,  Chapter  VI. 

197 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

a  made  man.  Everything  that  could  be  done  for  him  they 
most  devoutly  did.  They  thought  of  nothing  else.  Orphans 
and  ancient  widows  might  be  seen  hanging  about  the  prison 
from  break  of  day.  Their  oflScials  bribed  the  jailers  to  let 
them  sleep  inside  with  him.  Elegant  dinners  were  conveyed 
in;  their  sacred  writings  were  read.  In  some  of  the  Asiatic 
cities  the  Christian  communities  put  themselves  to  the  ex- 
pense of  sending  deputations  with  offers  of  sympathy,  assist- 
ance, and  loyal  advice.  The  activity  of  these  people  in  deal- 
ing with  any  matter  that  affects  their  community  is  some- 
thing extraordinary;  they  spare  no  trouble,  no  expense.  You 
see  these  misguided  creatures  start  with  the  general  convic- 
tion that  they  are  immortal,  which  explains  the  contempt  of 
death  and  voluntary  self-devotion  which  is  so  common  among 
them;  and  then  it  was  impressed  upon  them  by  their  original 
lawgiver  that  they  are  all  brothers  from  the  moment  that  they 
are  converted,  and  deny  the  gods  of  Greece,  and  worship  the 
crucified  Sage,  and  live  after  his  laws.  All  this  they  take 
quite  on  trust  with  the  result  that  they  despise  all  worldly 
goods  alike,  regarding  them  merely  as  common  property. 
Now,  an  adroit,  unscrupulous  fellow,  who  has  seen  the  world, 
has  only  to  get  among  these  simple  souls,  and  his  fortune  is 
pretty  soon  made." 

Second-  and  Third-Century  Christian  Witnesses. — The 

witness  of  the  Christians  of  the  second  and  third  centuries 
to  the  pure  morals  and  their  source  in  great  religious  faith 
is  beautiful  and  abundant. 

(a)  Aristides. — "Now,  the  Christians  know  and  believe 
in  God,  from  whom  they  have  received  those  command- 
ments which  they  have  engraved  on  their  minds,  which 
they  keep  in  the  hope  and  the  expectation  of  the  world  to 
come.  Because  of  this  they  do  not  commit  adultery  or 
fornication,  they  do  not  bear  false  witness,  they  do  not  deny 
a  deposit  nor  covet  what  is  not  theirs.  They  honor  father 
and  mother.  They  do  good  to  those  who  are  their  neigh- 
bors, and  when  they  are  judges  they  judge  uprightly.  They 
do  good  to  their  enemies.  Their  wives  are  pure  as  virgins, 
and  their  daughters  modest.  Their  men  abstain  from  all 
impurity  in  the  hope  of  the  recompense  that  is  to  come  in 
another  world.  Their  slaves  they  persuade  to  become 
Christians;  and  when  they  have  become  so,  they  call  them 


"  Fowler's  translation  of  the  works  of  Luoian. 

198 


ETHICAL  TASK  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

without  distinction  ^brethren/  They  walk  in  all  humility 
and  kindness,  and  falsehood  is  not  found  among  them. 
When  one  of  their  poor  passes  away  from  the  world,  and 
any  of  them  sees  him,  then  he  provides  for  his  burial  ac- 
cording to  his  ability /^^^ 

(b)  Justin  Martyr. — "We  who  formerly  delighted  in 
fornication  now  embrace  chastity  alone;  we  who  formerly 
used  magical  arts  dedicate  ourselves  to  the  good  and  unbe- 
gotten  God;  we  who  valued  above  all  things  the  acquisi- 
tion of  wealth  now  bring  what  we  have  into  a  common 
stock  and  distribute  to  everyone  in  need.  We  who  hated 
and  destroyed  one  another,  since  the  coming  of  Christ 
pray  for  our  enemies  and  endeavor  to  persuade  those  who 
hate  us  unjustly  to  live  conformably  to  the  precepts  of 
Christ.^^i« 

(c)  Tatian. — A  pupil  of  Justin's,  Tatian,  states  that  it 
was  the  ethical  content  of  Christianity  which  won  him 
from  paganism:  "Having  been  admitted  to  the  mysteries, 
having  examined  the  religious  rites  performed  by  the  effem- 
inate and  the  pathic,  and  having  found  among  the  Romans 
their  Jupiter  delighting  in  human  gore  and  the  blood  of 
slaughtered  men,  retiring  to  myself  I  sought  how  I  might 
be  able  to  discover  the  truth.  While  I  was  giving  my  most 
earnest  attention  to  the  matter  I  happened  to  meet  with 
certain  barbaric  writings,  too  old  to  be  compared  with  the 
opinions  of  the  Greeks,  too  divine  to  be  compared  with  their 
errors;  and  I  was  led  to  put  faith  in  these  by  the  excellent 
quality  of  the  precepts  and  the  declaration  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  universe  as  centered  in  one  Being.  My  soul 
being  taught  of  God,  I  discerned  that  these  writings  put 
an  end  to  the  slavery  that  is  in  the  world,  rescuing  it  from 
ten  thousand  tyrants."^''' 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

Christianity's  Task  to  Wrest  the  Empire  from  the  Grasp 
of  Greed  and  Lust. — It  was  an  evil  world  that  the  Chris- 


«  Chapter  XV,  abridged. 
w  Apology,  Chapter  XIV. 

"  Address  to  the  Greeks,  Chapter  XXIX,  abridged. 

199 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFOEMERS 

tianity  of  the  first  centuries  set  out  to  conquer.  There  were, 
of  course,  noble  Roman  families  among  the  rich  and  the  poor 
which  did  not  succumb  to  the  vices  denounced  by  Juvenal 
or  Tertullian.  But  the  morals  of  the  Romans  had  declined ; 
and  if  society  were  not  to  end  in  a  hideous  orgy,  some  new 
regenerative  life  had  to  wrest  the  social  institutions  of  the 
empire  from  the  fatal  grasp  of  greed  and  lust.  This  task 
fell  preeminently  to  Christianity.  It  was  a  gigantic  task, 
and  apart  from  its  divine  power  the  saving  of  the  social 
order  would  have  been  impossible. 

Early  Grreek  and  Roinan  Religion  Furnished  a  Moral 
Basis  for  the  State. — The  oracle  at  Delphi  was  once  the 
religious  center  of  the  Greek  world.  When  states  were  in 
difiiculty  and  disaster;  when  potent  cities  were  troubled 
about  public  policies;  when  princes  and  kings  were  delib- 
erating peace  and  war ;  when  men  lacked  decision  concern- 
ing marriage,  a  voyage,  an  investment,  the  care  of  lands 
and  herds ;  whenever  anyone  felt  himself  clouded  by  uncer- 
tainty or  failure,  he  turned  to  the  Delphian  Apollo  for 
light.  For  many  centuries  the  guidance  of  his  priests  made 
for  the  moral  stability  of  Greek  society.  Roman  religion 
did  the  same  for  the  Imperial  City.  But  Greek  and  Roman 
religion,  based  on  superstition  and  myth,  lost  its  power 
with  advancing  knowledge  of  the  world.  With  the  loss  of 
religious  faith  morals  declined.  Morality  can  sustain  itself 
permanently  only  when  shrouded  in  religion.  It  was  the 
religious  decadence  of  the  empire  which  opened  the  way  for 
moral  ruin. 

Roman  Immorality  a  Blight. — Luxury,  worship  of 
wealth,  inordinate  extravagance,  crudest  vulgarity,  became 
possible  to  the  few  with  the  Roman  conquest  of  the  world. 
With  the  decay  of  religion  the  temptations  of  the  powerful 
to  exploit  the  helpless  were  not  curbed.  Among  the  classes 
that  did  not  toil  there  was  vast  disdain  of  the  poor  and 
contempt  for  labor.  The  work  of  the  world  was  done  by 
slaves;  the  freedmen,  with  exceptions,  were  parasites  upon 
the  state.  Vast  fortunes  were  accumulated  only  to  be 
squandered.  The  love  of  wealth  caused  honesty,  good  will, 
justice  between  individuals  and  in  the  courts,  almost  to 

200 


ETHICAL  TASK  OF  CHEISTIANITY 

vanish.  Humanity  was  brutalized.  Masters  feared  the 
slaves.  The  slaves  were  subjected  to  great  cruelties.  Pub- 
lic amusements  were  debauched  by  licentiousness  and  in- 
humanity. Society  was  effeminate.  Sexual  license  cor- 
rupted all  human  relations.  Marriage  almost  universally 
was  expected  to  lead  to  divorce.  The  temples,  public  baths, 
theaters,  and  the  public  spectacles  were  places  of  assigna- 
tion. Abortion,  infanticide,  and  abandonment  of  children 
to  procurers  indicated  the  depth  of  shame  to  which  the 
family  and  the  home  had  fallen.  Carnal  debasements  of 
every  conceivable  sort  cursed  the  Eoman  world. 

The  Saving  Function  of  Christian  Ethics. — Beside  this 
darkness  of  Eoman  debauchery  Christian  morality  gleams 
with  heavenly  light.  The  Christian  gospel  always  was 
presented  as  salvation  from  immoral  living  as  well  as  sal- 
vation from  the  pressure  of  an  unjust  economic  social 
order.  "It  was  impressed  upon  them  by  their  original 
lawgiver  that  they  are  all  brothers,"  wrote  Lucian.  He 
recognized  that  this  fundamental  principle  of  Christianity 
forced  a  new  attitude  toward  property.  *^They  despise  all 
worldly  goods,  regarding  them  merely  as  common  prop- 
erty.^' It  must  be  recognized  that  this  more-or-less-realized 
economic  fraternalism  was  a  powerful  factor  in  the  spread 
of  Christianity  in  these  centuries.  But  this  is  only  a 
profound  expression  of  Christian  ethics.  It  was  the  same 
feeling  of  fraternalism  which  purified  the  family  life, 
introduced  justice  into  the  courts,  abhorred  the  brutal 
amphitheater,  and  denounced  the  sensuality  of  the 
age. 

The  Source  and  Stay  of  Christian  Morality  Is  Religion. 
— It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  source  and  stay  of 
Christian  morality  was  religion.  Christ  had  come  and  gone 
and  was  to  come  again.  "These  misguided  creatures  start 
with  the  conviction  that  they  are  immortal"  was  for  Lucian 
the  final  explanation  of  their  lives.  The  future,  with  its 
searching  judgment,  with  its  rewards  and  punishments, 
was  the  basis  of  their  ethical  life.  These  beliefs  were  their 
inheritance  from  the  generation  which  knew  Jesus.  His 
ethical  teachings  were  given  substance  by  his  resurrection. 

201 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFOEMERS 

The  expectation  of  his  coming  to  judgment  was  the  power- 
ful motive  of  early  Christianity's  unique  and  conquering 
ethical  life. 

The  Crystal  Cup  of  Hope 

Morality  Ever  Is  the  End  of  Religion. — Religion  is  not 
intended  primarily  to  thrill  us  but  to  purify  us  from  greed, 
lust,  pride,  and  inhumanity.  It  is  to  make  us  ideal  citi- 
zens in  an  ideal  world.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  primarily 
a  kingdom  of  brothers.  Fellowship  with  God  is  revealed 
in  promptings  toward  truth,  duty,  and  human  sympathy. 
There  is  among  us  a  vast  deal  of  ignorance,  unright- 
eousness, and  selfish  shirking  of  obligations.  Our  civiliza- 
tion needs  to  be  penetrated  and  controlled  by  a  passion  for 
truth,  by  a  glad  acceptance  of  duty,  by  pure  and  righteous 
individual  conduct,  by  justice  and  freedom  in  our  wider 
social  relationships.  God  ever  seeks  the  progress  of  a 
finer  world  order  on  earth.  The  coming  kingdom  for 
which  Christ  labored  was  a  kingdom  of  pure  and  unselfish 
social  living;  it  was  an  ideal  society  of  just,  sympathetic, 
and  enlightened  men  and  women  mutually  devoted  to  a 
common  welfare  and  finding  the  inspiration  of  their  lives 
in  fellowship  with  God. 

What  Characterizes  Christianity? — Unless  religion 
voices  these  things  it  is  not  the  religion  of  Christ.  When 
God  speaks  to  a  man  to-day,  it  is  not  only  to  draw  him 
into  the  divine  fellowship;  it  is  also  to  make  him  a  more 
dynamic  person  in  the  heroic  task  of  reconstructing  the 
social  order.  The  hall  mark  of  a  divine  prompting,  now 
as  in  early  Christianity,  is  the  urging  toward  individual 
and  community  holiness.  Whenever  any  social  order  per- 
mits the  few  to  amass  vast  wealth  to  be  used  by  the  few, 
while  the  masses  remain  in  economic  dependence  or  toil 
in  poverty,  that  civilization  is  marked  with  death-bringing 
disease.  Prostitution  and  divorce  alike  are  terrible  social 
diseases.  Their  increase  is  a  process  of  social  death.  A 
feminist  movement  away  from  the  home  and  family  offers 
no  happy  solving  of  woman's  pressing  problems. 

202 


ETHICAL  TASK  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Genuine  Christianity  Dignifies  the  Individual. — It  fixes 
a  man's  value  not  by  his  race,  ancestry,  or  wealth,  but  by 
his  manhood:  by  the  fact  that  he  is  a  human  unit  in  the 
social  order.  To  speak  with  accents  of  sweetness  and  sun- 
shine, to  live  cheerfully,  to  show  tenderness  toward  all 
frailty,  to  bear  patiently  with  the  ignorant,  to  keep  the  door 
to  one's  charity  open  toward  the  unfortunate,  to  breathe 
endless  good  will  toward  every  creature,  is  to  keep  oneself 
very  close  to  the  whispering  God.  Just  to  be  a  good  friend, 
a  good  neighbor,  to  be  the  unwearied  lover  of  the  loveless 
and  the  lowly,  is  to  draw  one's  life  from  the  heavenly 
Father. 

The  Crystal  Cup. — It  was  this  crystal  cup  of  life  and 
hope  which  the  conquering  Christianity  of  the  early  centu- 
ries held  up  to  the  parched  lips  of  the  pagan  world.  They 
drank  it  and  found  life.  It  is  this  cup  the  world  still  needs. 
Live  it  in  your  love,  urgent  words,  and  faithful  service 
to  the  faint  and  restless  souls  of  your  day. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  evil  social  conditions  existed  in  the  Roman  world 
during  the  first  and  second  centuries? 

2.  How  were  these  conditions  looked  upon  by  the  pagan 
writer  Tacitus?  by  Suetonius?  by  Pliny?  by  Juvenal? 

3.  How  did  the  Christian  writers  picture  decadent  pagan 
morals? 

4.  What  phases  of  this  did  Justin  Martyr  emphasize? 

5.  How  did  Clement  of  Alexandria  characterize  the  life 
of  pagan  women? 

6.  State  the  four  charges  against  pagan  life  made  by  Ter- 
tullian. 

7.  What  contribution  did  Christianity  make  to  the  regenera- 
tion of  the  individual  and  the  institutions  of  the  Roman 
world? 

8.  Discuss  Lucian's  putting  of  the  cultured  Greek-Roman 
viewpoint. 

9.  What  was  the  appeal  and  power  of  Christianity  socially 
during  the  second  and  third  centuries,  according  to  Aristides? 
Justin  Martyr?  Tatian? 

10.  What  religious  basis  did  Greek  and  Roman  thought  fur- 
nish the  Christian  missionaries? 

11.  Discuss  the  saving  function  of  Christian  ethics. 

12.  What  is  the  source  and  stay  of  Christian  morality? 

203 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Reading  References 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  II,  pages 
311-85. 

The  Conflict  of  Christianity  With  Heathenism,  Uhlhorn, 
pages  92-149. 

The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity,  Harnack,  Vol- 
ume II,  Chapters  IV  and  V. 

Roman  Society  From  Nero  to  Marcus  Aurelius,  Dill,  pages 
1-286. 


204 


CHAPTER    XVI 

KINGDOM  AND  CREED 

In  the  course  of  time  the  emphasis  in  Christian  interests 
shifted  from  conduct  to  belief.  The  kingdom  of  God  was 
defined  in  terms  of  doctrine,  and  loyalty  to  such  doc- 
trines was  the  test  of  Christian  excellence.  These  doc- 
trines, formulated  by  bishops  and  councils,  did  not  sup- 
plant the  demand  for  morality  in  the  relationships  of  life 
but  they  did  become  the  primary  test  of  worthiness  of  mem- 
bership in  the  church.  This  chapter  points  out  this  change 
in  Christian  history,  indicates  its  causes,  and  estimates 
the  serviceableness  of  this  new  conception  of  Christianity. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  and  the  Nicenb  Creed 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount. — The  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
once  was  a  collection  of  the  sayings  of  Jesus  (see  Chapter 
X).  Matthew  the  apostle  assembled  these  characteristic 
utterances  of  Jesus,  and  they  were  intended  by  him — and 
were  so  received  by  his  generation — to  express  the  heart  of 
the  religion  proclaimed  by  Jesus.  They  were  the  principles, 
the  gospel,  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  citizen  of  the 
Kingdom  is  he  who  does  the  will  of  God.  The  citizen  of  the 
Kingdom  is  not  impatient  or  angry  with  his  fellow  men 
(Matthew  5.  21-24) ;  is  not  impure  in  thought  (5.  27-32) ; 
is  unre vengeful  (5.  38-42)  ;  is  filled  with  love  toward  all 
(5.  43-48)  ;  is  no  caviling  censor  of  the  conduct  of  others 
(7.  1-5).  It  is  he  who  does  by  others  as  he  wishes  others 
to  treat  him;  who  ever  seeks  to  dispel  ill  will,  misunder- 
standing, and  quarrels;  who  thinks  helpfully  of  the  poor, 
the  hungry,  the  naked,  the  sick,  and  the  prisoner  (25.  34- 
36)  ;  it  is  this  person,  not  he  who  cries  out  vehemently, 
"Lord,  Lord,"  who  enters  God's  kingdom.     It  is  hunger 

205 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

for  righteousness,  purity  of  life,  and  meekness  of  mind  and 
heart  which  bring  men  into  fellowship  with  God. 

Eeligion  With  Jesus  Was  Ethics,  not  Metaphysics. — Re- 
ligion, in  the  thought  and  practice  of  Jesus,  is  fellowship 
expressed  in  pure,  righteous,  and  loving  conduct.  Here 
are  no  metaphysics,  but  ethics;  no  philosophy  of  the  uni- 
verse, but  a  rule  of  life;  no  speculations,  but  specific  in- 
junctions for  the  ordering  of  one's  business,  family  affairs, 
and  other  social  intercourse.  To  accept  these  principles 
changes  the  moral  content  of  one's  life.  Fruits  of  better 
conduct  appear.  The  man  becomes  a  better  husband,  a 
better  father,  a  better  neighbor,  a  better  merchant,  a  better 
citizen.  It  is  correct  moral  thinking,  not  speculative  logic, 
which  leads  men  into  approved  relations  with  God. 

The  Nicene  Creed.— The  Council  of  Nicea,  a.  d.  325, 
among  other  acts  adopted  a  creed  that  was  believed  by  the 
three  hundred  and  sixteen  bishops  who  signed  it  to  express 
faithfully  the  beliefs  of  the  church  from  the  days  of  the 
apostles.  The  Council  of  Constantinople,  a.  d.  381,  reaf- 
firmed the  Nicene  Creed  with  slight  changes : 

We  believe  in  one  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible: 
and  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God, 
begotten  of  the  Father  before  all  worlds,  that  is  of  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Father,  Light  of  Light,  very  God  of  very  God, 
begotten,  not  made,  consubstantial  with  the  Father:  by  whom 
all  things  were  made,  both  in  heaven  and  earth:  who  for  us 
men  and  for  our  salvation  came  down  from  heaven,  and  was 
incarnate  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  was 
made  man,  was  crucified  also  for  us  under  Pontius  Pilate, 
and  suffered,  and  was  buried,  and  on  the  third  day  he  rose 
again  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  ascended  into  heaven, 
and  sittest  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  and  from  thence 
he  shall  come  again  with  glory  to  judge  both  the  quick  and  the 
dead,  whose  kingdom  shall  have  no  end;  and  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Lord  and  Giver  of  life,  who  proceedeth  from  the 
Father;  who,  with  the  Father  and  the  Son  together,  is  wor- 
shiped and  glorified,  who  spoke  by  the  prophets:  in  one  holy 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church.  We  acknowledge  one  baptism 
for  the  remission  of  sins:  we  look  for  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  and  the  life  of  the  world  to  come.  And  those  who 
say  that  there  was  a  time  when  the  Son  of  God  was  not,  and 
before  he  was  begotten  he  was  not,  or  that  he  was  of  things 

206 


KINGDOM  AND  CEEED 

which  are  not,  or  that  he  was  a  different  hypostasis  or  sub- 
stance, or  pretend  that  he  is  eflHuent  or  changeable,  these  the 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  anathematizes/ 

With  few  modifications  this  creed  continues  to  be  the 
chief  doctrinal  statement  of  the  Greek  and  the  Eoman 
Catholic  Churches.  The  church,  as  this  and  the  following 
chapter  will  show,  was  identifying  itself  with  the  king- 
dom of  God.  To  exclude  from  the  church  was  to  take 
away  from  the  anathematized  their  citizenship  in  God's 
kingdom.  Succeeding  church  councils  also  declared  that 
loyalty  to  the  Nicene  rule  of  faith  gave  citizenship  in  the 
Kingdom;  refusal  to  confess  the  creed  expunged  one's 
name  from  the  roster  of  heaven. 

The  Attitude  of  the  Church. — The  attitude  of  the  church 
of  this  period  appears  in  the  action  of  the  Council  of  Chal- 
cedon,  a.  d.  451 :  "The  Holy  Ecumenical  Synod  defines  that 
no  one  shall  be  suffered  to  bring  forward  a  different  faith 
[that  is,  from  the  Nicene  Creed],  nor  to  write,  nor  put 
together,  nor  to  excogitate  nor  to  teach  it  to  others.  Such 
as  dare  either  to  put  together  another  faith  or  to  bring 
forward  or  to  teach  or  to  deliver  a  different  creed,  if  they 
be  bishops  or  clerics,  let  them  be  deposed,  the  bishops  from 
the  episcopate,  and  the  clerics  from  the  clergy ;  but  if  they 
be  monks  or  laics,  let  them  be  anathematized.-"^ 

The  Essence  of  the  Nicene  Creed. — What  is  it  to  which 
the  Christians  of  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  centuries 
needed  to  subscribe  in  order  to  remain  citizens  of  the 
Kingdom?  It  will  be  seen  that  the  creed  contains  both 
facts  and  explanations  of  the  facts  or  inferences  from  them. 
The  ideal  of  religion  held  by  these  framers  of  creeds  is 
totally  different  from  the  ideal  expressed  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount.  The  disciples  of  Jesus  would  not  have  under- 
stood this  creed.  Had  he  proclaimed  it  to  them,  he  would 
not  have  drawn  them  from  their  pursuits  in  Galilee  to 
become  his  companions  and  missionaries.  These  Galileans 
would  not  have  known  the  meaning  of  "very  God  of  very 
God,  begotten,  not  made,  consubstantial  with  the  Father." 

1  The  Nicene  and  Poat-Nicene  Fathers,  Volvime  XIV,  page  164. 
*Ibid.,  Volume  XIV,  page  265. 

207 


APOSTLES,  EATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

They  were  not  required  to  accept  the  eternity  and  change- 
lessness  of  Jesus  before  they  were  permitted  to  take  up  their 
cross  to  follow  him.  This  creed  would  have  been  unintelli- 
gible to  them  because  it  moves  in  the  realm  of  speculation, 
not  conduct;  metaphysics,  not  ethics.  Evil  men  might 
assent  to  this  creed :  but  wicked  men  would  not  make  Jesus 
their  Comrade.  The  creed  and  the  use  the  church  of  those 
centuries  made  of  it  identified  orthodoxy  and  morality, 
sectarianism  and  heresy,  heresy  and  immorality.  Citizen- 
ship in  the  Kingdom  now  was  regarded  as  correct  logic 
primarily:  correct  morals  availed  nothing  unless  assent 
was  given  to  the  established  creed. 

Causes  of  the  Changed  Emphasis 

The  Contact  of  Christianity  with  Greek  Thought. — Re- 
read the  statements  of  Chapter  XIY  under  the  caption 
"Summary :  The  Coming  Kingdom.^^  With  the  multiplica- 
tion of  churches  and  the  expansion  of  Christian  influence 
Christianity  undertook  what  Paul  failed  to  do  at  Athens — 
to  convince  the  Greek  mind  of  the  reasonableness  of  the 
gospel.  Then,  too,  the  successes  of  the  new  religion  drew 
upon  it  the  criticism  of  the  Greek  that  it  was  a  peasants 
faith :  it  had  in  it  nothing  to  commend  it  to  the  thinking, 
philosophical  man.  It  seems  now  that  the  service  ren- 
dered by  the  apologists  was  extremely  necessary,  and  that 
the  result  of  their  efforts  was  inevitable.  This  result  was 
the  introduction  into  Christianity  of  a  philosophy  of  the 
sources  of  the  regenerated  moral  life  which  came  eventually 
to  be  more  highly  regarded  than  the  life  itself.  Specula- 
tion took  precedence  over  life. 

The  "Dialogue  of  Justin  Martyr  With  Trypho,  a  Jew." 
— This  new  spirit  is  finely  expressed  in  the  opening  para- 
graphs of  the  "Dialogue  of  Justin  Martyr  with  Trypho,  a 
Jew'': 

"While  I  was  going  about  one  morning  in  the  walks  of  the 
Xystus  [a  public  sheltered  promenade  at  Ephesus]  a  certain 
man,  with  others  in  his  company,  having  met  me,  said,  'Hail, 
O  philosopher!'  Immediately  after  saying  this  he  turned 
round  and  walked  along  with  me;   his  friends  likewise  fol- 

208 


KINGDOM  AND  CEEED 

lowed  him.  I,  in  turn,  addressed  him  and  asked,  'What  is 
there  important?'  *I  was  instructed,'  he  replied,  'that  I 
ought  not  to  despise  or  treat  with  indifference  those  who 
array  themselves  in  this  dress  [that  is,  in  the  philosopher's 
garb]  but  to  show  them  all  kindness  and  to  associate  with 
them.  Whenever  I  see  anyone  in  such  costume  I  gladly 
approach  him,  that  some  advantage  may  spring  from  the 
intercourse.'  'Who  are  you,  most  excellent  man?'  I  asked.  *I 
am  Trypho,  a  Hebrew,'  he  replied.  'And  in  what,'  said  I, 
'would  you  be  profited  by  philosophy  so  much  as  by  your  own 
lawgiver  and  prophets?'  'Why  not?'  he  replied.  'Do  not  the 
philosophers  turn  every  discourse  on  God?  Do  not  questions 
continually  arise  to  them  about  his  unity  and  providence? 
Is  not  this  truly  the  duty  of  philosophy  to  investigate  the 
Deity?'    'Assuredly,'  said  I;  'so  we  too  have  believed.'" 

This  conversation,  together  with  the  whole  extended  argu- 
ment, throws  a  stream  of  light  upon  the  Hellenization  of 
the  religion  of  Jesus.  Justin,  a  Christian  teacher  and 
missionary,  dresses  like  a  Greek  philosopher;  he  frequents 
the  places  where  philosophers  assemble;  he  recognizes  that 
philosophy  concerns  itself  with  ultimate  religious  problems ; 
he  feels  that  Christianity  is  a  philosophy  older  and  better 
than  the  Greeks  knew;  he  directs  his  evangelistic  appeal 
to  win  the  assent  of  a  speculative  mind  rather  than  the 
obedience  of  an  aroused  conscience.  An  account  of  Jus- 
tin's conversion  to  Christianity,  given  to  Trypho,  shows 
that  this  philosophical  appeal  was  a  living  appeal  at  least 
to  some  of  the  thoughtful  Greeks. 

Origin  of  Sects. — This  reshaping  of  Christianity  in 
terms  of  Greek  philosophy  opened  the  way  for  numerous 
sects.  There  cannot  be  much  difference  among  sincere 
men  about  moral  conduct ;  but  earnest  men  can  hold  widely 
diverging  speculative  opinions.  The  doctrinal  result  of 
Christian  apology  in  the  second  and  third  centuries  was 
the  rapid  growth  of  sects.  Valentius  and  Marcion  were  the 
chiefs  of  the  two  widely  scattered  Gnostic  sects,  but  these 
in  turn  were  subdivided  by  their  disciples.  Manichseism,  a 
Gnostic  sect,  was  a  troubler  of  the  church  for  many  centu- 
ries.   Augustine  for  a  time  was  one  of  its  followers. 

The  Arian  Controversy. — The  immediate  cause  of  the 
adoption  of  the  Nicene  Creed  as  the  test  of  the  Christian 

209 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  EEEOEMERS 

life  was  the  necessity  of  checking  the  spread  of  Arianism. 
Alius,  a  presbyter  of  blameless  life,  trained  in  the  famous 
school  of  Antioch,  was  in  charge  of  one  of  the  great  churches 
of  Alexandria  in  a.  d.  318.  Driven  by  his  philosophical 
bent  of  mind,  Arius  was  possessed  by  the  conviction  that 
God  is  one.  This  unity  of  God  cannot  be  infringed  upon 
by  the  existence  of  another  being  of  the  same  substance 
and  eternality  as  God.    Arius  thus  states  his  position : 

We  teach  that  the  Son  is  not  unbegotten  nor  in  any  way- 
part  of  the  unbegotten;  that  he  does  not  derive  his  subsistence 
from  any  matter;  but  that  by  his  own  will  and  counsel  he 
has  subsisted  before  time  and  before  ages  as  perfect  God, 
only  begotten  and  unchangeable;  and  that  before  he  was 
begotten,  or  created,  or  purposed,  or  established,  he  was  not. 
We  are  persecuted  because  we  say  that  the  Son  has  a  begin- 
ning, but  that  God  is  without  beginning." 

The  Concern  of  Arius. — From  this  statement  of  his  posi- 
tion it  will  be  seen  that  Arius  was  concerned  that  the  unity 
and  eternity  of  the  divine  Being  should  not  be  abridged. 
Jesus  for  him  was  far  more  than  a  human  being :  he  was 
not  merely  a  creature  of  matter  or  of  the  time  world.  He 
was  created  before  matter  was  created  and  he  was  a  per- 
fect Being;  but  he  was  not  created  out  of  the 
substance  of  Deity,  and  he  is  not  coeternal  with  God. 
Arius  did  not  minimize  the  worship  of  Christ  nor  his  part 
in  human  salvation.  These  views  of  Arius  met  a  large 
response  in  the  intellectual  life  of  his  day.  In  many  ways 
they  were  not  new.  From  the  middle  of  the  second  century, 
under  the  influence  of  Greek  philosophy,  there  had  been 
attempts  to  reconcile  the  unity  of  God  with  the  redemptive 
work  and  person  of  Christ. 

Monarchianism. — These  views,  known  by  the  general 
name  "Monarchianism,'^  fall  into  two  main  groups : 

(a)  By  some  Jesus  was  regarded  as  a  Man  in  whom  the 
spirit  of  God  dwelt.  Hippolytus,  in  his  great  work  The 
Refutation  of  All  Heresies  (about  a.  d.  225),  states  the 
position  of  a  certain  Theodotus,  who  championed  this  view 
of  Jesus ; 

3  From  a  letter  of  Arius  to  Eusebius,  Volume  III,  The  Nicene  and  Poat-Nicene 
Fathers,  page  41. 

210 


KINGDOM  AND  CREED 

Theodotus  maintains  that  Jesus  was  a  mere  man,  born  of 
a  virgin,  according  to  the  counsel  of  the  fathers,  and  that 
after  he  had  lived  in  a  way  common  to  all  men  and  had  be- 
come preeminently  religious  he  subsequently,  at  his  baptism 
in  Jordan,  received  Christ,  who  came  down  from  above  and 
descended  upon  him  in  the  form  of  a  dove.  Therefore,  miracu- 
lous power  did  not  operate  within  him  prior  to  the  manifesta- 
tion of  that  Spirit  which  descended  and  proclaimed  him  to 
be  the  Christ.* 

(h)  By  others  Jesus  was  regarded  not  as  a  second  divine 
Person  hut  as  the  one  God  who  had  assumed  flesh.  This 
view  was  prominently  advocated  by  a  certain  Praxeas  of 
Asia  ]\[inor,  who  came  to  Rome  about  a.  d.  180.  Victor, 
Bishop  of  Rome,  a.  d.  190-98,  and  his  immediate  succes- 
sors, Zephyrinus  and  Callistus,  gave  general  assent  to  the 
monarchical  views  advocated  by  Praxeas.  Tertullian,  in 
his  tract  "Against  Praxeas,"  preserves  the  latter's  teaching. 

He  maintains  that  there  is  one  only  Lord,  the  Almighty 
Creator  of  the  world;  that  the  Father  himself  came  down 
into  the  virgin,  was  himself  born  of  her,  himself  suffered, 
indeed  was  himself  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Use  of  Creeds 
For  the  Instruction  of  Converts. — There  are  hints  in 
the  New  Testament  that  Christians  of  the  apostolic  age 
were  instructed  by  the  use  of  certain  formulated  statements 
of  accepted  beliefs  (1  Timothy  6.  12;  2  Timothy  1.  13;  2 
John,  verses  9-11).  Matthew  28.  19  implies  a  minimum 
of  creed  necessary  to  baptism,  and  the  Didache,  admitting 
to  the  Holy  Communion  only  those  baptized  by  this  for- 
mula, stamps  it  as  its  creed.  From  time  to  time  this 
baptismal  creed  was  expanded.  The  need  of  a  fuller  state- 
ment of  belief  would  be  felt  by  all  churches  sooner  or 
later.  With  all  expansions  the  creed  was  believed  to  set 
forth  the  teaching  of  the  apostles.  The  Old  Roman  Creed 
is  one  of  these  early  summaries  of  faith.    It  ran  as  follows : 

I  believe  in  God,  Father  Almighty; 

And  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  Son,  our  Lord, 

Who  was  born  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  Virgin  Mary, 

Crucified  under  Pontius  Pilate,  and  buried; 

*  Book  VII,  Chapter  23. 

211 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFOEMERS 

The  third  day  he  rose  from  the  dead, 

He  ascended  into  Heaven, 

Sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father, 

Thence  he  shall  come  to  judge  living  and  dead; 

And  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 

Holy  Church, 

Remission  of  sins, 

Resurrection  of  the  flesh. 

This  creed  was  in  use  in  Rome  at  the  beginning  of  the 
second  century.  It  probably  was  called  the  Apostles'  Creed 
from  its  first  appearance  and  was  designed  to  instruct  cate- 
chumens. This  need  of  a  creed  did  not  pass  away.  Even 
with  the  interpretation  of  Christian  beliefs  in  terms  of 
Greek  philosophy  there  were  still  converts  to  the  faith  to 
be  instructed  in  Christian  fundamentals. 

To  Exclude  Sectaries. — In  the  midst  of  all  the  various 
sects  there  was  a  need  for  a  definite  faith.  The  bishops 
who  formulated  the  Nicene  Creed  believed  that  they  were 
expressing  the  faith  of  the  apostles  and  considered  them- 
selves their  true  successors.  They  felt  at  liberty  therefore 
to  exclude  all  who  held  a  different  faith.  Hence,  the  schis- 
matic who  did  not  accept  the  Nicene  formulary  was  anathe- 
matized. He  was  cast  out  of  the  society  of  the  faithful. 
He  was  deprived  of  his  citizenship  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Creed,  rather  than  conduct,  became  the  test  of  the  true 
Christian.  The  excommunicated  person  may  have  led  the 
purest  life ;  yet  if  he  hesitated  at  one  point  of  the  creed,  he 
was  cast  out. 

The  Development  of  Doctrine 

The  Work  of  Augustine. — During  the  fourth  and  fifth 
centuries  the  characteristic  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church 
were  developed.  Augustine,  bishop  of  Hippo  in  Africa, 
almost  may  be  said  to  have  accomplished  this  task  alone. 
Two  outstanding  doctrines  that  have  shaped  the  theology 
of  centuries  are  (a)  original  sin  and  native  depravity,  and 
(&)  predestination.  Augustine  states  these  doctrines  as  fol- 
lows: 

Original  Sin  and  Native  Depravity. — "God,  the  author 
212 


KINGDOM  AND  CREED 

of  natures,  not  of  vices,  created  man  upright;  but  man, 
being  of  his  own  will  corrupted  and  justly  condemned,  begot 
corrupted  and  condemned  children.  For  we  were  all  in 
that  one  man,  since  we  all  were  that  one  man,  who  fell  into 
sin  by  the  woman  who  was  made  from  him  before  the  sin. 
.  .  .  The  seminal  nature  was  there  from  which  we  were 
to  be  propagated;  and  this  being  vitiated  by  sin,  and  bound 
by  the  chain  of  death,  and  justly  condemned,  man  could 
not  be  born  of  man  in  any  other  state.  Thus,  from  the  bad 
use  of  free  will  there  originated  the  whole  train  of  evil 
which,  with  its  concatenation  of  miseries,  conveys  the 
human  race  from  its  depraved  origin,  as  from  a  corrupt 
root,  on  to  the  destruction  of  the  second  death,  which  has 
no  end,  those  only  being  excepted  who  are  freed  by  the 
grace  of  God/^^ 

Predestination. — "We  have  distributed  the  human  race 
into  two  parts,  the  one  consisting  of  those  who  live  accord- 
ing to  man,  the  other  of  those  who  live  according  to  God. 
These  we  also  mystically  call  the  two  cities,  or  the  two  com- 
munities of  men,  of  which  the  one  is  predestined  to  reign 
eternally  with  God,  and  the  other  to  suffer  eternal  punish- 
ment with  the  devil.  .  .  .  When  these  two  cities  began 
to  run  their  course  by  a  series  of  deaths  and  births,  the  citi- 
zen of  this  world  was  the  first  born,  and  after  him  the 
stranger  in  this  world,  the  citizen  of  the  city  of  God,  pre- 
destined by  grace,  elected  by  grace,  by  grace  a  stranger  be- 
low, and  by  grace  a  citizen  above.  By  grace,  for  so  far  as 
regards  himself  he  is  sprung  from  the  same  mass,  all  of 
which  is  condemned  in  its  origin :  but  God,  like  a  potter,  of 
the  same  lump  made  one  vessel  of  honor,  another  to  dis- 
honor.^' 

Augustine's  Statements  Not  New. — Important  as  these 
statements  are,  neither  of  them  is  precisely  new.  But  in 
Augustine's  treatment  of  them,  coupled  with  his  extraor- 
dinary genius,  his  services  to  the  church  in  refuting  heresy, 
in  his  exaltation  of  church  government,  they  take  on  such 
solid  power  that  they  still  dominate  vast  numbers  of 
Christians. 

^City  of  God,  Book  XIII,  Chapter  XIV. 

213 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 
A  Shift  of  Christian  Emphasis. — The  Christian  centuries 
from  the  early  second  to  the  middle  of  the  fifth  witnessed  a 
shift  of  Christian  emphasis  from  a  religion  of  moral  con- 
duct and  loving  fellowship  with  God  and  men  into  a  reli- 
gion whose  highest  expression  was  loyalty  to  philosophical 
statements  about  religion's  verities  formulated  by  church 
authority.  We  see  now  that  this  development  was  a  mis- 
take. It  is  always  a  blunder  to  confound  creed  with  char- 
acter. Christianity  was  changed  from  a  religion  of  the 
spirit  into  a  religion  of  external  authority. 

This  Change  Was  Inevitable. — Just  as  the  lapse  of  Is- 
rael's prophetic  religion  into  Judaism,  although  a  period 
of  stagnation,  seems  necessitated  by  its  historical  environ- 
ment, so  the  intellectual  and  political  conditions  of  these 
early  Christian  centuries  brought  to  pass  this  change  in  the 
religion  of  Christ.  It  is  inconceivable  now  in  what  other 
manner  the  church  could  have  weathered  the  scoffs  of  Greek 
thought,  the  breaking  up  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  the 
inrush  of  the  barbarians.  Just  as  Judaism  seems  the  one 
possible  form  of  Israel's  religion  which  could  have  with- 
stood the  Hellenizing  attempts  of  Alexander's  successors,  so 
rigid  creed  and  monarchical  government  alone  seem  able  to 
have  withstood  the  opposing  forces  of  Christianity  in  these 
trying  times. 

God's  Method. — When  God  cannot  do  his  best  with  us 
he  does  his  next  best.  The  makers  of  these  creeds  and 
doctrines  continually  affirm  that  they  had  not  changed  the 
apostolic  faith.  Yet,  without  being  aware  of  it,  they  did 
introduce  momentous  changes.  Their  sincere  belief  that 
they  acted  under  the  guidance  of  God  witnesses  to  the  con- 
tinuity of  revelation.  God  was  speaking  in  them  the  best 
message  which  their  age  would  receive.  He  had  a  better 
message  for  them,  but  they  could  not  hear  it.  Probably 
there  will  always  be  a  place  for  speculation  in  religion,  but 
it  must  not  divorce  religion  from  conduct  and  fellowship. 

The  Test  of  Citizenship 
What  About  Dogmatic  Creeds? — It  is  natural  to  apply 
214 


KINGDOM  AND  CREED 

tests  to  determine  who  belong  to  the  Kingdom.  Even  Jesus 
said,  *'Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me.  Lord,  Lord,  .  .  . 
but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven/' 
Spirituality  far  too  often  has  been  identified  with  rigid 
adherence  to  accepted  doctrines.  In  all  ages  when  religion 
has  shrunk  from  a  living  experience  with  God  into  clinging 
to  the  experiences  of  past  generations,  the  need  of  a  dog- 
matic statement  of  beliefs  is  keenly  felt,  and  loyalty  to  a 
creed  becomes  the  test  of  sainthood.  Nearly  all  the  great 
controversies  of  the  church,  the  clashes  between  donomina- 
tions,  the  cruelties  imposed  by  the  tribunals  of  the  Inqui- 
sition, the  struggles  for  reform  and  trials  of  heresy,  have 
occurred  because  the  ideal  of  religion  as  fellowship  with 
God  rebelled  against  the  conception  of  religion  as  loyalty  to 
formulated  statements  about  God. 

What  Is  Spirituality  ? — To  be  spiritual  is  to  think  first, 
when  enumerating  the  splendors  of  an  age  or  the  triumphs 
of  an  individual,  of  the  achievements  of  virtue,  of  huraan- 
itarianism,  of  unselfish  striving  for  the  common  welfare. 
To  place  one's  confidence  in  truth,  in  justice,  in  purity,  and 
in  love,  and  to  hold  that  these  are  the  supreme  life  values ; 
something  to  lose  money  for  if  necessary;  something  for 
which  political  power  and  social  leadership  must  be  surren- 
dered if  need  arise ;  something  to  go  down  to  one's  death  for 
to  make  them  dominant  in  civilization  when  blinded  ig- 
norance threatens  their  destruction. 

Kingdom  Citizenship. — To  be  a  citizen  of  Christ's  king- 
dom is  to  be  engaged  in  propagating  it.  If  you  follow 
Christ's  defining  of  spirituality,  there  need  never  pass  one 
of  your  social  contacts  into  which  you  have  not  thrust  at 
least  a  tiny  gleam  of  the  finer  life.  The  essential  thing  is 
for  you  yourselves  to  be  dominated  by  the  spiritual;  to 
have  committed  yourselves  irrevocably  to  the  conviction  that 
civilization  enhances  essentially  by  the  truth,  justice,  and 
good  will  which  permeate  our  human  relationships. 

The  Imparting  of  Ideals. — With  this  view  of  life  unalter- 
ably fixed  in  your  thought  and  feeling  you  cannot  see  peo- 
ple without  imparting  something  of  your  ideals  even  into 
the  tensest  business  conversation.     Sometimes  it  is  only  a 

215 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

tone,  a  gesture,  a  kindly  denial,  a  smiling  face,  the  uncon- 
scious assertion  that  the  man  or  the  woman  before  you 
harbors  no  base  thought  and  contemplates  no  unworthy 
action.  Make  it  the  rule  of  your  life  never  to  come  into 
touch  with  any  person  without  giving  them  a  little  gift  out 
of  the  spiritual  and  you  have  contributed  in  the  most  sig- 
nificant manner  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  world. 

Suggestions  foe  Class  Discussion 

1.  With  what  were  the  teachings  of  Jesus  concerned? 

2.  Discuss  the  meaning  of  the  Nicene  Creed. 

3.  How  was  it  used  by  the  church  authorities? 

4.  In  what  ways  did  contact  with  Greek  thought  bring 
about  a  chang-e  in  emphasis  in  Christian  teaching? 

5.  What  light  does  the  "Dialogue  of  Justin  Martyr  With 
Trypho,  a  Jew"  throw  upon  the  Hellenizing  process? 

6.  Discuss  the  Arian  controversy  and  its  results. 

7.  What  was  the  essence  of  the  teaching  of  Monarchianism? 

8.  Discuss  the  use  of  the  creed  made  by  the  early  church. 

9.  What  part  did  Augustine  have  in  the  development  of 
Christian  doctrine? 

10.  Discuss  "original  sin  and  native  depravity," 

11.  What  influence  upon  modern  life  has  the  doctrine  of 
"predestination"? 

12.  What  influence  upon  practical  life  did  the  shifting  of 
emphasis  to  creeds  have? 

13.  State  the  intellectual  and  political  conditions  responsible 
for  this  change. 

Reading  References 

A  Source  Book  for  Ancient  Church  History,  Ayer,  pages  75- 
129,  297-325. 

The  Greek  and  Eastern  Churches,  Adeney,  pages  41-101. 

The  Church  of  the  Fathers,  Pullan,  pages  44-68,  85-98. 

Cam'bridge  Medieval  History,  Volume  I,  Chapter  V. 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  II,  Chap- 
ters XI  and  XII;  Volume  III,  pages  618-689. 


216 


CHAPTER   XVII 

KINGDOM  AND  CHURCH 

The  transformation  of  the  Christianity  of  Jesus  into  the 
Christianity  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  the  Middle 
Ages  is,  with  few  or  no  exceptions,  the  most  striking  move- 
ment of  history.  A  survey  of  the  process  and  its  causes,  by 
which  a  religion  of  the  inner  life  developed  into  a  religion 
of  external  formularies  and  political  system,  illumines  not 
only  the  history  of  religion  but  the  expressions  of  religion 
and  the  meaning  of  religion  to-day. 

The  Pkimacy  of  the  Roman  Church 

The  Church  at  Rome  the  Acknowledged  Leader. — At 

the  close  of  the  apostolic  age  the  Christian  community  at 
Rome  was  the  acknowledged  leader  among  the  various 
churches.  There  were  numerous  causes  that  contributed  to 
this  primacy.  This  church  was  located  in  the  capital  of  the 
empire;  its  membership  was  large,  due  to  its  evangelistic 
zeal  and  to  continual  removals  from  the  provinces  to  the 
imperial  city;  some  of  its  members  were  quite  influential; 
it  possessed  considerable  wealth;  it  was  active  in  charity; 
and  it  had  been  instructed  by  the  two  greatest  apostles — 
Paul  and  Peter.  The  mother  church  at  Jerusalem  lost  its 
leadership  by  its  failure  to  keep  in  fraternal  relations  with 
Gentile  Christianity  and  by  the  destruction  of  the  city  in 
A.  D.  70.  Wg  have  seen  (Chapter  XI)  that  at  the  close  of 
the  apostolic  age  the  chief  officer  in  a  local  church  was  its 
bishop.  The  early  part  of  the  second  century  the  bishop 
had  become  the  monarchical  ruler  of  his  church  community. 
To  strengthen  his  authority,  it  was  easy  to  believe — what 
probably  was  asserted  with  sincerity — that  the  bishops  had 
been  appointed  by  the  apostles  and,  therefore,  were  reliable 
guardians  of  apostolic  teaching  and  practice.  The  bishops 
of  those  churches  which  had  been  founded  by  the  apostles — 

217 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

namely,   Ephesus,   Corinth,   and  Rome — enjoyed  unusual 
preeminence. 

The  Pkimacy  of  the  Roman  Bishop 

The  Primacy  of  the  Roman  Church  Assumed  by  the 
Roman  Bishop. — When  the  bishop  became  the  official  repre- 
sentative and  ruler  of  the  church,  the  primacy  of  the 
Roman  Church  was  naturally  assumed  by  the  Roman 
bishop.  Two  important  controversies  of  the  second  century 
indicate  that  the  primacy  of  the  bishop  of  Rome  was  recog- 
nized generally.  The  Montanists,  a  sect  that  spread 
rapidly  through  Asia  Minor,  being  persecuted  by  the  Asia- 
tic bishops,  sought  recognition  from  Eleutheris,  bishop  of 
Rome.  At  the  same  time  the  church  of  Lyons,  in  Gaul,  sent 
its  representative  to  Rome  in  connection  with  the  same  con- 
troversy. This  appeal  of  Christians  at  both  extremes  of  the 
Christian  world  to  the  bishop  of  Rome  indicates  at  this 
time  (a.  d.  177)  his  place  of  first  importance.  The  decision 
of  the  bishop  of  Rome  was  adverse  to  the  Montanists,  and 
the  Roman  bishop's  attitude  eventually  led  to  their  suppres- 
sion. Another  controversy  concerning  the  proper  date  to 
celebrate  Easter,  became  acute  about  190.  Victor,  bishop 
of  Rome,  issued  an  edict  excommunicating  every  congrega- 
tion that  did  not  follow  the  practice  of  Rome.  This  edict 
aroused  much  protest  from  his  fellow  bishops,  but  in  the 
end  the  decision  of  Rome  definitely  settled  the  date  of 
the  Easter  observance  for  Western  Christendom. 

Irenaeus  on  the  Primacy  of  the  Roman  Church  and 
Bishop. — The  primacy  of  the  Roman  Church  and,  conse- 
quently, of  its  bishop,  at  the  close  of  the  second  century 
is  expressed  by  Irenaeus,  bishop  of  Lyons : 

We  put  to  confusion  all  those  who  assemble  in  unauthor- 
ized meetings  by  indicating  that  tradition  derived  from  the 
apostles  of  the  very  great,  the  very  ancient,  and  universally 
known  church  founded  and  organized  at  Rome  by  the  two 
most  glorious  apostles — Peter  and  Paul.  It  is  necessary  that 
every  church  should  agree  with  this  church  on  account  of 
its  preeminent  authority.^ 


1  Against  Heresies,  Book  III,  Chapter  3. 

218 


KINGDOM  AND  CHURCH 

The  Roman  Bishops  Claim  Control  Over  the  Entire 
Church. — In  the  third  century  the  bishops  of  Eome  claimed 
the  right  to  exercise  control  over  the  whole  of  the  church. 
Stephen  excommunicated  the  churches  of  Africa  and  Asia 
because  they  maintained  that  heretics  and  schismatics  on 
being  received  into  the  Catholic  Church  must  be  rebaptized. 
Firmilian,  a  bishop  of  Asia  Minor,  in  a  letter  to  Cyprian, 
bishop  of  Carthage,  makes  clear  this  claim  of  Stephen  and 
his  own  indignation  at  the  action  of  the  bishop  of  Rome : 

I  am  justly  indignant  at  Stephen,  who  so  boasts  of  the 
place  of  his  episcopate  and  contends  that  he  holds  the  suc- 
cession from  Peter,  on  whom  the  foundations  of  the  church 
were  laid.  .  .  .  How  great  sin  have  you  [Stephen]  heaped 
up  for  yourself  when  you  cut  yourself  off  from  so  many 
flocks?  For  while  you  think  that  all  may  be  excommunicated 
by  you,  you  have  excommunicated  yourself  alone  from  all. 

The  Identification  of  Christianity  With  the 
Church 

A  New  Conception  of  the  Church  After  the  Decian 
Persecution. — During  the  third  century,  when  the  bishops 
of  Rome  were  striving  to  express  and  maintain  their  pri- 
macy, conditions  that  arose  through  the  far-reaching  perse- 
cutions of  Christians  by  the  emperor  Decius  (a.  d.  250) 
became  the  occasion  of  the  identification  of  Christianity 
with  the  church.  Decius  ordered  all  Christians  to  adopt 
the  state  religion  and  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods.  Many  Chris- 
tians were  faithful  unto  death,  but  large  numbers,  espe- 
cially among  the  rich  and  prominent,  apostatized.  After 
the  storm  had  passed,  those  who  had  sacrificed  to  idols 
sought  fellowship  again  in  the  Christian  community.  Some 
of  the  strictest  churchmen  thought  they  ought  never  to  be 
taken  back  into  Christian  fellowship;  others  made  it  quite 
easy  for  the  lapsed  to  regain  their  Christian  standing. 
Those  who  suffered  for  the  faith  by  loss  of  property,  by 
imprisonment,  or  by  death  came  to  regard  themselves  and 
were  regarded  by  many  others  in  possession  of  the  right 
to  grant  forgiveness  to  the  lapsed.  Many  flagrant  abuses, 
destructive  of  ecclesiastical  order   and  moral   discipline, 

219 


APOSTLES,  FATHEKS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

arose.  It  was  in  reaction  against  this  laxity  toward  apos- 
tasy that  a  new  conception  of  the  church  became  dominant. 
Christianity  Identified  With  the  Church. — Cyprian 
(a.  d.  200-58),  bishop  of  Carthage,  held  that  the  apos- 
tatized might  again  be  received  into  church  fellowship 
after  due  repentance  and  penitence.  Those  among  the 
lapsed  who  were  not  so  received,  and  all  who  received  them 
in  any  other  way  had  no  part  in  the  church  and  no  fellow- 
ship with  Christ.    Cyprian  declares : 

He  who  forsakes  the  church  of  God  cannot  attain  unto 
the  rewards  of  Christ.  He  can  no  longer  have  God  for  his 
Father  who  has  not  the  church  for  his  mother.''  Whosoever 
he  may  be,  and  whatever  he  may  be,  he  who  is  not  in  the 
church  of  Christ  is  not  a  Christian.^ 

The  Church  Identified  With  the  Episcopacy. — Cyprian 
not  only  limits  Christianity  to  church  membership  but 
also  clearly  states  that  the  episcopacy  essentially  constitutes 
the  church.  It  is  impossible  to  be  in  the  church  and  not 
be  in  relations  of  fellowship  and  obedience  with  the 
bishops : 

There  is  one  God,  one  Christ,  one  church,  and  one  chair 
founded  upon  the  rock  by  the  word  of  the  Lord.  [This  chair 
for  Cyprian  is  the  episcopacy.]  Let  no  one,  beloved  brethren, 
make  you  to  err  from  the  ways  of  the  Lord;  let  them  remain 
outside  the  church  who  have  departed  from  the  church;  let 
them  be  without  bishops  who  have  rebelled  against  bishops.* 

Here  Cyprian  naturally  assumes  that  he  who  is  separated, 
in  obedience,  from  his  bishop,  is  without  the  church.  But 
in  Epistle  LXVIII  he  becomes  exceedingly  explicit: 

They  are  the  church  who  are  a  people  united  to  the  priests 
and  the  flock  which  adheres  to  its  pastor.  Whence  you  ought 
to  know  that  the  bishop  is  in  the  church  and  the  church  in 
the  bishop ;  and  if  anyone  be  not  with  the  bishop,  then  he  is 
not  in  the  church. 

Cyprian  gave  positive  expression  to  a  conception  of  the 
church  and  the  church's  relation  to  the  Kingdom  which  the 
persecutions   and   factions   made   imperative.     From   the 

2  On  the  Unity  of  the  Church,  Chapter  VI. 
•  Epistle  LI. 
♦Epistle  XXXIX. 

220 


KINGDOM  AND  CHURCH 

middle  of  the  third  century  the  idea  of  the  church  was  a 
great  autocratically  governed  state  whose  rulers  were  the 
bishops.  Cyprian,  although  he  calls  the  bishopric  of  Rome 
"the  place  of  Peter"  and  "the  sacerdotal  throne,"  also  ex- 
pressly insists  that  the  episcopal  power  resides  jointly  in 
all  bishops  consecrated  by  Catholic  authority.  But  it  was 
only  a  process  of  time  until  the  primacy  of  the  Roman 
see  was  fully  recognized  in  Western  Christendom. 

The  Identification  of  the  Church  With  the  Roman 
Papacy 

The  Fourth  Century. — The  increasing  authority  of  the 
Roman  bishop  during  the  century  after  Cyprian  is  seen  in 
the  following  incidents: 

(a)  The  Donatist  controversy  was  referred  to  the  bishop 
of  Rome  for  settlement  (a.  d.  313).  The  Donatists  arose 
in  North  Africa.  They  maintained  that  the  validity  of  the 
sacraments  depended  on  the  pure  character  of  the  clergy 
who  administered  them;  the  Catholics  held  that  the  va- 
lidity of  the  sacraments  depended  on  Christ  and  on  their 
administration  by  properly  ordained  priests.  The  charac- 
ter of  the  latter  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  efficacy  of  the 
sacraments.  The  Donatists  appealed  to  the  emperor  Con- 
stantine,  who  referred  the  controversy  to  the  bishop  of 
Rome  for  adjudication.  The  letter  of  the  emperor  to  the 
bishop  of  Rome  is  given  by  Eusebius  in  his  Church  His- 
tory, Volume  X,  Chapter  V. 

(b)  Athanasius  and  other  oppressed  adherents  of  the 
Nicene  Creed,  living  in  Alexandria  and  the  remoter  East, 
appealed  to  Julius,  bishop  of  Rome  (a.  d.  337-52).  Julius 
sent  these  bishops  back  to  their  churches  with  letters  to 
their  persecutors,  charging  them  with  violation  of  the 
canon  law.  Julius  claimed  that  the  synod  that  deposed 
the  bishops  who  had  appealed  to  him  was  illegal,  since  the 
Roman  bishop  had  not  been  invited  to  attend.  The  con- 
troversy is  recorded  in  the  history  of  Socrates,  Book  II, 
Chapters  XV  and  XVII. 

(c)  The  Council  of  Sardica  (a.  d.  344)  decreed  that  the 
bishop  of  Rome  is  the  court  of  official  appeal  in  the  church. 

221 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

(d)  Letter  of  Jerome  (Epistle  XVII)  to  Damasus, 
bishop  of  Rome  (a.  d.  377). — Jerome  states  that  the  church 
of  Antioch  in  Syria  is  rent  in  three  factions,  but  that  all  of 
them  professed  to  cleave  to  the  Rome  bishop.  Jerome  asks 
Damasus  to  say  which  faction  he  favors  and  declares  his 
own  loyalty,  saying,  "He  who  clings  to  the  chair  of  Peter 
is  accepted  by  me.^' 

(e)  Sircius  (385-98),  the  first  bishop  to  issue  what  may 
properly  be  termed  a  papal  decree. — It  was  framed  in  the 
tone  of  supreme  authority  and  was  designed  to  promote 
the  celibacy  of  the  clergy.  In  discussing  this  subject  he 
wrote :  "No  priest  of  the  Lord  is  free  to  ignore  the  statutes 
of  the  apostolic  see."^ 

The  Fifth  Century. — (a)  Innocent  I  (a.  d.  402-17) 
greatly  advanced  the  growth  of  the  papacy.  He  wrote  to 
some  bishops  of  Illyria :  "I  adjudge  it  to  be  an  insult  to  the 
apostolic  see  that  any  hesitation  should  have  occurred  in 
a  matter  referred  to  and  decided  by  that  see,  which  is  the 
head  of  all  the  churches.^'  To  the  bishops  of  Africa,  who 
sent  him  a  report  of  the  Council  of  Carthage,  he  declared : 
"You  have  not  thought  fit  to  trample  under  foot  those 
institutions  of  the  fathers,  that,  whatever  may  be  done  in 
provinces,  they  should  not  account  concluded  till  it  had 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  this  see;  that  all  other  churches 
might  thence  take  what  they  should  teach,  just  as  all  waters 
issue  from  their  native  fountain."^ 

(b)  The  papal  position  was  greatly  strengthened  both 
by  the  claims  and  the  public  service  of  Leo  (a.  d.  440-61). 
(1)  Leo's  conception  of  the  Roman  bishopric  may  be  seen 
in  the  following  words  taken  from  his  sermon  on  the  third 
anniversary  of  his  pontificate:  "In  my  humble  person 
Peter  is  recognized  and  honored,  in  whom  abides  the  care  of 
all  the  shepherds,  together  with  the  charge  of  the  sheep 
commended  to  him,  and  whose  dignity  is  not  abated  even 
in  so  unworthy  an  heir.'*  Leo  carried  on  an  extensive  cor- 
respondence through  all  of  which  he  insisted  upon  the 


*  Source  Book  for  Ancient  Church  History,  Ayer,  page  416. 

*  Abridged  from  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Hurst,  Volume  I,  page  726. 

222 


KINGDOM  AND  CHUECH 

supreme  authority  of  the  bishopric  of  Eome.  (2)  Twice 
Leo  was  able  to  save  Eome  from  destruction.  In  452, 
when  Attila,  king  of  the  Huns,  was  threatening  Eome,  Leo, 
with  two  companions,  entered  Attila's  camp  and,  by  remon- 
strances and  gifts,  persuaded  this  ruthless  conqueror  to 
spare  the  city.  When  Genseric,  the  leader  of  the  Vandals, 
pillaged  Eome  in  a.  d.  455,  Leo  pledged  him  to  forego 
burning  the  city  and  slaughtering  its  inhabitants. 

Gregory  the  Great  Bishop  of  Rome  (A.  D.  590-604).— 
(a)  Wiili  Gregory  I  the  papacy,  both  as  an  autocratic  ec- 
clesiastical rulership  and  as  a  temporal  povjer,  was  fully 
estahlislied.  Gregory  was  born  in  Eome  and  was  descended 
from  a  wealthy  patrician  family.  In  573  he  became  pre- 
fect, the  highest  official  of  the  city  of  Eome.  But  in  the 
midst  of  his  political  career  he  gave  up  his  public  honors, 
turned  monk,  gave  his  property  in  charity  and  to  establish 
monasteries,  and  turned  his  palace  on  the  Cselian  hill  into  a 
convent.  In  590,  much  against  his  will,  he  was  chosen 
pope. 

{h)  Gregory  extended  the  primacy  of  Rome.  He  did  so, 
not  so  much  by  direct  assertion  of  the  prerogatives  of  the 
Eoman  episcopate,  although  he  asserted  the  supremacy  of 
Eome  in  uncompromising  fashion  ["I  know  of  no  bishop 
who  is  not  subject  to  the  apostolic  see  when  a  fault  has  been 
committed"],  but  rather  in  that  he  acted  constantly 
upon  the  assumption  of  his  primacy  in  the  widest 
and  most  detailed  relationships  with  the  churches  of  the 
East  and  the  West.  The  following  words  addressed  to  the 
bishops  of  Sicily  illustrate  the  spirit  and  method  of  Gre- 
gory in  making  good  the  claims  of  the  Eoman  see  to  uni- 
versal obedience : 

Gregory,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  to  all  the  bishops 
constituted  throughout  Sicily:  We  have  plainly  perceived  it 
to  be  very  necessary  that,  even  as  our  predecessors  thought 
fit  to  do,  we  should  commit  all  things  to  one  and  the  same 
person;  and  that  where  we  cannot  be  present  ourselves,  our 
authority  should  be  represented  through  him  to  whom  we 
send  our  instructions.  Wherefore,  with  the  help  of  God, 
we  have  appointed  Peter,  subdeacon  of  our  see,  our  delegate 
in  the  province  of  Sicily. 

223 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMEES 

This  policy  of  establishing  papal  legates  in  districts  beyond 
Rome  was  widely  practiced. 

(c)  Gregory  insisted  everywhere  upon  pure  living  and 
the  practice  of  justice.  He  insisted  that  the  bishops  should 
give  themselves  to  preaching  and  to  the  spiritual  guidance 
of  their  churches.  He  insisted  that  "the  ruler  should  al- 
ways be  pure  in  thought,  inasmuch  as  no  impurity  ought 
to  pollute  him  who  has  undertaken  the  office  of  wiping 
away  the  stains  of  pollution  in  the  hearts  of  others;  for 
the  hand  that  would  cleanse  from  dirt  must  needs  be 
clean.^'  Gregory  used  the  vast  revenue  of  the  Roman 
Church  to  alleviate  distress.  The  moral  and  benevolent 
character  of  his  rule  greatly  augmented  his  power. 

{d)  Tlie  political  and  temporal  power  of  the  papacy  first 
came  to  distinct  recognition  in  Gregory.  The  invasion  of 
the  Lombards  so  weakened  the  imperial  government  in 
Italy  that  the  pope  was  the  only  outstanding  person  upon 
whom  could  fall  the  responsibility  of  conserving  the  best 
of  the  old  Roman  order.  The  necessities  of  the  situation 
forced  Gregory  to  become  a  political  ruler.  Undoubtedly 
he  saw  the  advantages  that  accrued  to  the  papacy,  but  ap- 
parently Gregory  did  not  covet  the  new  responsibilities. 
During  these  changing  times  he  appointed  governors  of 
cities,  issued  orders  to  generals,  became  the  only  ruler  of 
Rome,  and  treated,  like  any  temporal  prince,  with  the 
Lombard  king.  By  the  end  of  Gregory's  episcopate  the 
papacy  had  become  a  state  as  well  as  a  church.  The  city 
of  the  Caesars  had  become  the  city  of  the  popes. 

(e)  The  wealth  of  the  Roman  see  previous  to  Gregory's 
pontificate  and  during  his  tenure  of  office  became  very 
large.  The  possession  of  these  landed  estates,  amounting 
to  more  than  a  million  acres,  justified  Gregory's  political 
activity;  and  the  revenue  from  these  lands,  aggregating  a 
million  and  a  half  dollars  annually  and  spent  entirely  in 
benevolence,  tended  greatly  to  overcome  antagonism  to  the 
Roman  see.  This  wealth  accumulated  rapidly  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  sixth  century.  The  barbarian  invasion  of  Italy 
destroyed,  exiled,  or  drove  into  monasteries  many  wealthy 
families.     In  numerous  cases  such  families  deeded  their 

224 


KINGDOM  AND  CHUECH 

lands  to  the  Eoman  prelate.  These  estates  were  scattered 
far  and  wide  and,  under  Gregory's  administration,  con- 
tributed greatly  to  the  aggrandizement  of  the  papacy. 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

Christianity  Becomes  a  Church. — The  present  chapter, 
together  with  the  preceding,  indicates  the  transformation 
of  Christianity  from  a  religion  of  the  spirit  into  a  religion 
of  externals;  into  loyalty  to  intellectual  definitions  and 
obedience  of  bishops.  This  was  a  sad  decline  from  the 
lofty  ideal  of  Jesus.  But,  looking  back  to  those  centuries, 
it  seems  now  that  no  other  type  of  Christianity  than  this 
external  organization  could  have  survived  the  breaking  up 
of  the  Eoman  Empire  and  the  barbarian  invasions. 

Influences  That  Tended  Toward  the  Papacy. — While 
there  was  further  development  of  the  papacy  beyond  Greg- 
cry,  the  main  outlines  of  the  Eoman-Catholic  system  were 
fully  laid  down  by  the  close  of  the  sixth  century.  Many 
and  varied  influences  made  possible  the  claims  of  the 
Eoman  bishops  and  the  final  acceptance  of  their  claims  by 
Western  Christianity.    Some  of  these  are : 

(a)  Rome  was  the  only  great  city  of  the  West,  and  this 
church  was  the  only  apostolic  church  of  the  West. 
— It  speedily  became  large,  prosperous,  exceedingly  be- 
nevolent, and  actively  missionary.  It  did  not  give  itself 
so  freely  to  speculation  as  the  Eastern  churches,  therefore 
was  more  conservative,  changed  slowly,  and  was  more 
orthodox.  Then,  too,  located  in  the  imperial  capital,  all  its 
traditions  were  of  empire.  Its  bishops  generally  possessed 
the  Eoman  legal  mind  and  genius  for  political  organiza- 
tion. The  idea  of  a  divinely  founded  and  eternal  empire 
was  inherited  by  the  church  from  the  imperial  govern- 
ment. 

(6)  Certain  historical  events  contributed  to  the  growth 
of  the  Roman-Catholic  system. — Most  important  among 
these  were  the  removal  of  the  capital  of  the  empire  to 
Constantinople,  which  gave  the  bishop  of  Eome  greater 
freedom  in  the  West;  the  invasion  of  the  barbarians  ruined 
and  scattered  the  ancient  and  wealthy   Italian  families, 

225 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 


whose  removal  placed  the  bishops  of  Rome  in  the  leader- 
ship of  Roman  interests  in  Italy;  the  fall  of  the  Western 
empire  left  the  church  as  the  only  representative  of  the 
old  common  life,  and  the  surviving  Romans  of  the  prov- 
inces turned  the  more  readily  for  guidance  to  the  church 
of  Rome. 

The  Chair  of  Saint  Peter. — It  was  such  influences  as 
these  and  the  need  of  church  unity  and  outward  organiza- 
tion which  enabled  the  bishops  of  Rome  to  seize  upon  the 
words  of  Christ  to  Peter  and  wrest  them  into  divine 
authority  for  their  claims  to  supremacy.  By  the  end  of  the 
sixth  century  the  Kingdom  had  become  a  church.  The 
episcopate,  reaching  its  essential  expression  in  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  was  held  to  be  a  divinely  given  order  in  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  continued  his  guidance  of  God's  people. 

Chuech  Buildees 

What  Is  the  True  Relation  Between  the  Kingdom  of 
God  and  the  Church? — Can  one  belong  to  God's  kingdom 
and  not  be  a  member  of  the  church  ?  Church  membership 
has  no  mysterious  efficacy  to  transform  character.  The 
church  should  be  regarded  as  the  school  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  Within  its  services,  fellowship,  and  social  tasks 
its  members  should  discover  and  appropriate  the  lessons 
and  the  discipline  of  Christian  character.  The  church 
is  not  now  and  never  has  been  a  community  of  saints. 
The  church,  regarded  as  a  school,  has  room  for  persons 
of  varied  beliefs  and  different  stages  of  character  achieve- 
ments. Its  fundamental  bond  of  union  would  be  the 
desire  to  know  and  to  experience  nobler  life  and  the  belief 
that  this  higher  life  is  to  be  found  in  the  teaching  and 
fellowship  of  Christ.  Such  a  church  could  say  to  all  non- 
church  people:  "Come  with  us  into  the  school  of  Christ. 
We  do  not  profess  a  sainthood  of  achievement  but  of  long- 
ing. We  know  that  we  have  not  fully  accomplished  but  we 
are  upheld  by  our  aspirations.  Let  us  live  in  the  midst  of 
Christ's  ideals  until  their  glory  compels  us  to  reproduce 
them  within  ourselves." 

226 


KINGDOM  AND  CHURCH 

A  Living  Proposition. — Such  a  church  never  can  be 
externalized  in  creed  or  office;  in  ancient  formularies  or 
modern  organizations.  Its  power  will  be  the  spiritual  long- 
ings of  its  members:  its  unity  will  be  secured  by  its  uni- 
versal aspiration  after  lifers  spiritual  goals.  There  is  ever 
the  tendency  to  externalize  religion  by  conformity  to  some 
outward  expression  of  a  past  religious  impulse ;  to  be  satis- 
fied with  church  attendance,  tithing  one's  income  for  reli- 
gious interests,  serving  in  some  official  position  in  a  charity 
or  missionary  organization.  Some  active  relationship  to 
outer  life  will  spring  from  a  true  religious  experience ;  but 
religion  itself  is  something  finer,  something  more  intimate, 
something  more  real,  than  any  outward  act  or  loyalty  which 
may  spring  from  it.  Religion  essentially  is  comradeship 
with  God. 

New  Occasions  Ever  Teach  New  Duties. — Religion  ought 
to  find  new  outward  expressions  with  the  changing  ages. 
The  entrance  of  Greek  thought  into  Christianity  and  the 
breaking  up  of  the  Roman  Empire  occasioned  the  church 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  an  autocratic  government.  But  the 
government  is  not  the  essential  thing;  not  the  primary 
thing ;  not  the  permanent  thing.  The  awakened  and  grow- 
ing spiritual  life  within  man  is  the  dominating  element  of 
religion,  and  this  life  of  the  spirit  will  need  changing  insti- 
tutions and  creeds  from  age  to  age.  Beware  lest,  in  cling- 
ing to  the  transient  form,  the  eternal  experience  is  silenced. 

Toil  for  an  Ideal. — Recall  the  men  who  made  the  papacy. 
They  did  not  labor  primarily  for  themselves;  they  toiled 
for  an  ideal,  for  the  men  who  should  come  after  them. 
It  was  this  abandonment  of  their  lives  to  a  cause  which 
won  them  their  triumphs.  The  permanent  victories  are 
won  through  unselfish  struggles.  The  trophies  I  win  for 
myself  quickly  perish :  those  I  win  for  my  cause  endure. 
Let  us  live  our  lives  in  behalf  of  the  forward  movements 
of  God's  kingdom,  and  our  sacrifices  take  on  immortality. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  How  came  the  church  at  Rome  to  be  the  acknowledged 
leader  among  the  Christian  communities? 

227 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

2.  By    what    process    did    the    Roman    bishop    assume    the 
primacy  of  the  Roman  Church? 

3.  Discuss  the  views  of  Irenaeus  on  Roman  primacy. 

4.  Discuss   the  circumstances   following   the   Decian   perse- 
cution which  created  a  new  conception  of  the  church. 

5.  How  came  the  church  to  be  identified  with  the  episco- 
pacy? 

6.  What  conditions  made  possible  the  development  of  the 
papacy? 

7.  Describe  some  of  the  steps  in  the  process. 

8.  Outline  the  part  taken  by  Gregory  the  Great  in  establish- 
ing the  papacy. 

9.  What  essential  change  took  place  in  Christianity  when 
it  became  a  church? 

10.  State  some  of  the  historical  events  that  strengthened 
the  papacy? 

11.  How  were  Jesus'   words  to  Peter  twisted  to  give  the 
papacy  Scriptural  backing? 

12.  What  influence  has  the  papacy  had  upon  the  Kingdom? 

Reading  References 

Article  "Papacy"  in  Encyclopwdia  Britannica. 
The  Church  of  the  Fathers,  Pullan,  pages  382-99. 
Cambridge  Medieval  History,  Volume  II,  pages  236-62. 
Civilization  During  the  Middle  Ages,  Adams,  Chapter  VI. 
The  Church  and  the  Barbarians,  Hutton,  pages  60-71. 


228 


CHAPTEE    XVIII 

CHEISTIANITY'S   APPEAL  TO   PAGAN   EUEOPE 

Peevious  chapters  have  dealt  with  the  missionary  ex- 
pansion of  Christianity  in  Mediterranean  lands.  With  the 
exception  of  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor  no  reference  has 
been  made  to  the  extension  of  the  gospel  among  primitive 
heathenism.  Christianity  won  its  early  triumphs  among  a 
Greek-speaking  people.  When  it  passed  beyond  the  Greek 
world  it  still  was  moving  during  the  early  centuries  within 
civilized  areas.  This  chapter  sets  forth  something  of  the 
missionary  activities  of  the  church  in  Christianizing  north- 
ern Europe. 

The  Christian  World  of  a.  d.  350 

The  Roman  Empire  Nominally  Christian. — The  Eoman 
Empire  at  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  became  the 
increasing  prey  of  the  barbarians.  At  this  time  it  extended 
from  England  to  Armenia.  Its  northern  boundary  was 
marked  by  the  Ehine  and  Danube ;  its  southern  by  a  fringe 
of  coast  in  northern  Africa.  Eome  and  Constantinople 
were  its  capitals.  This  Eoman  world  may  be  said,  in  a  loose 
sense,  to  have  been  a  Christian  world.  Christianity  was 
known  in  all  its  great  centers.  The  bishops  of 
York,  Lincoln,  and  London  were  present  at  the  Council 
of  Aries  in  a.  d.  314.  There  were  resident  bishops  in  all  the 
populous  centers  of  Gaul,  but  the  masses  undoubtedly  were 
still  pagan.  The  same  conditions  held  for  German  terri- 
tory incorporated  within  the  empire.  There  were  Chris- 
tian communities  in  the  large  towns,  but  their  numbers 
were  not  large,  and  the  majority  of  the  people  still  clung 
to  their  ancient  religious  practices.  The  older  sections  of 
the  empire  were  much  more  Christianized.  In  many  parts 
half  or  two  thirds  of  the  population  had  become  Christian. 

229 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  REFOEMERS 

Soldiers,  merchants,  slaves,  and  missionaries,  impelled  by 
their  own  enthusiasm,  had  carried  the  gospel  through 
this  vast  area.  But  there  is  no  record  of  any  church 
adopting  a  missionary  program  or  sending  forth  a  mission- 
ary band  into  the  waiting  world. 

The  Barbarian  Invasions. — About  the  middle  of  the 
fourth  century  there  began  some  remarkable  migrations 
of  barbarian  peoples  across  Europe  into  the  civilized  Medi- 
terranean lands.  Taking  with  them  all  their  possessions, 
whole  tribes  left  their  ancient  abodes  and  crossed  the  boun- 
daries of  the  Roman  Empire,  where,  by  conquest  or  peace- 
able treaty,  residence  was  secured.  At  the  middle  of  the 
second  century  the  Goths  left  their  lands  lying  along  the 
Baltic  Sea  and  slowly  moved  southward.  By  a.  d.  200  they 
had  established  themselves  along  the  northeast  shores  of  the 
Black  Sea  and  the  lower  Danube.  They  frequently  over- 
ran Greece  and  Asia  Minor.  In  376  about  one  hundred 
thousand  of  these  Goths  were  given  permission  by  the  em- 
peror to  cross  the  Danube  and  settle  within  the  empire. 
Under  Alaric  in  395  they  ravaged  Greece,  invaded  Italy, 
and  sacked  Rome  (410).  Alaric's  successors  established  a 
West  Gothic  kingdom  on  both  sides  of  the  Pyrenees  by  420. 
Other  pagan  tribes  possessed  themselves  of  other  portions 
of  the  empire.  The  Vandals  won  North  Africa  in  429 ;  the 
Franks  swept  south  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine  and  held 
the  major  part  of  Gaul  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury ;  in  the  fifth  century  the  Angles  and  Saxons  were  tak- 
ing possession  of  Britain;  the  Burgundians  were  in  Alsace 
and  Switzerland  by  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century;  Italy 
and  Ulyria  belonged  to  the  East  Goths;  Saxons,  Jutes, 
Frisians,  Thuringians,  and  many  other  German  tribes  were 
to  the  north  of  the  ancient  limits  of  the  empire. 

The  Christianizing  of  the  Germans  Within  the 
Empire 

The  Witness  of  Slaves. — It  is  probable  that  nearly  all 
of  these  Germanic  peoples  had  many  Christians  among 
them  before  they  crossed  the  boundaries  of  the  Roman 
Empire.    This  is  clearly  true  of  the  Goths.    On  their  raids 

280 


CHRISTIANITY'S  APPEAL  TO  EUROPE 

into  Asia  Minor  during  the  early  part  of  the  third  century 
they  had  borne  home  with  them  Christian  prisoners.  These 
slaves,  like  the  Jewish  maid  in  Naaman's  household,  did 
not  keep  silent  about  their  religion.  Women  and  children 
usually  were  the  first  to  hear  the  message  of  Christ,  but 
sturdy  warriors  too  gave  up  their  idols.  But  this  Chris- 
tianity had  no  effective  leadership. 

Ulfila,  the  Apostle  of  the  Groths. — Ulfila  was  born  among 
the  Goths  in  a.  d.  310  and  at  thirty  years  of  age  was  conse- 
crated bishop  of  the  Goths  by  the  bishop  of  Constantinople, 
at  this  time  the  leader  of  Arian  Christianity.  He  won 
great  success  among  his  people,  organizing  the  scattered 
Christians  into  churches,  instructing  them,  and  translat- 
ing the  Scriptures  into  the  Gothic  language.  When  the 
Goths  crossed  the  Danube  in  376,  the  whole  of  these 
migrants  were  Christian. 

Other  Missionary  Influences. — From  the  middle  of  the 
fourth  century  to  the  time  of  Gregory  I  the  German 
peoples  were  in  constant  motion  and  therefore  came  into 
contact  with  Christianity  in  various  ways.  Thousands  of 
Christian  captives  were  carried  off  in  their  numerous  raids 
into  Roman  territory;  barbarian  soldiers  serving  in  the 
armies  of  the  empire  carried  home  with  them  the  new 
religion ;  traders  exhibited  their  religious  beliefs  as  well  as 
offered  their  wares;  exiled  Christians  and  fugitives  from 
the  empire  contributed  something  to  the  leavening  influ- 
ences. Then,  there  was  the  open-mindedness  of  the  later 
barbarians  to  learn  the  religion  that  seemed  to  lie  behind 
the  culture  of  the  southlands.  Finally,  wherever  the  bar- 
barians crossed  into  the  empire,  they  eventually  all  became 
Christians. 

Church  Missionary  Activities  in  Pagan  Europe 

Christian  Missions  in  Ireland. — It  is  not  known  when  or 
by  whom  Christianity  was  introduced  into  Ireland.  In 
A.  D.  431  Bishop  Palladius  was  sent  by  Pope  Celestine  to 
the  Christians  in  Ireland.  These  Christians  probably  were 
slaves,  shipwrecked  sailors,  fugitives,  and  returned  mer- 

231 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

chants  and  soldiers.  However,  the  conversion  of  Ireland 
was  due  mainly  to  Saint  Patrick,  who,  consecrated  bishop 
by  the  bishop  of  Auxerre  in  Gaul,  entered  Ireland  in  432 
and  labored  until  his  death  in  461.  Patrick  in  his  boybood 
had  been  a  slave  in  Ireland.  Its  wretched  heathenism 
awakened  in  him  a  passion  to  make  the  people  acquainted 
with  Christ.  He  was  both  missionary  and  church  organ- 
izer; and  while  paganism  was  not  extinguished  in  his  day, 
Ireland  has  had  a  continuous  Christian  history  since  his 
time.  Irish  Christianity  of  this  period  was  monastic 
Christianity.  Hundreds  of  monastic  settlements  for  men 
and  women  were  established  throughout  the  island.  To 
become  a  Christian  was  to  enter  a  convent.  Some  of  these 
monasteries  had  thousands  of  Christians  living  within 
their  walls.  These  Irish  convents  were  schools  of  learning. 
Ovid  and  Vergil  were  explained,  and  Greek  authors  were 
faithfully  studied.  To  critics  who  questioned  their  devo- 
tion to  the  liberal  studies  they  replied:  "If  we  have  the 
knowledge  of  God,  we  shall  never  offend  God;  they  who  dis- 
obey him  are  those  who  know  him  nof 

A  Mission  to  the  Germanic  Tribes  in  England. — The 
invading  Angles,  Saxons,  and  Jutes  drove  the  Celts,  who 
to  some  extent  had  been  Christianized  during  the  Roman 
occupation  of  Britain,  into  the  rugged  and  mountainous 
sections,  and  the  land  once  more  was  pagan.  Gregory  the 
Great,  before  he  was  elevated  to  the  papacy,  had  his  interest 
aroused  in  England  as  a  mission  field  by  the  sight  of  some 
English  slaves  in  the  Roman  forum.  When  he  became 
pope  he  purchased  some  English  slave  boys  to  train  them  as 
missionaries  to  their  people.  But  his  interest  could  not 
wait  so  long,  and  Augustine  was  chosen  to  head  a  mission 
to  England.  He  landed  with  about  forty  followers  on  the 
shores  of  Britain  in  a.  d.  597.  ^^thelberht,  king  of  Kent, 
was  the  most  powerful  English  prince  at  this  time.  The 
learned  Bede  (673-735)  in  his  Church  History  preserves 
the  account  of  the  meeting  of  Augustine  and  the  king  of 
Kent: 

Augustine  and  his  companions,  sending  to  ^thelberht, 
signified   that   they   were   come   from   Rome   and   brought  a 

232 


CHRISTIAmTY^S  APPEAL  TO  EUROPE 

joyful  message,  which  most  undoubtedly  assured  to  those 
that  hearkened  to  it  everlasting  joys  of  heaven.  .  .  .  Some 
days  after,  the  king  .  .  .  ordered  Augustine  and  his  com- 
panions to  come  and  hold  a  conference  with  him.  He  had 
taken  the  precaution  that  they  should  not  come  to  him  in 
any  house,  lest  by  so  coming,  according  to  an  ancient  super- 
stition, if  they  practiced  any  magical  arts,  they  might  impose 
upon  him  and  so  get  the  better  of  him.  But  they  came  en- 
dued with  divine,  not  with  magic  power,  bearing  a  silver 
cross  for  their  banner  and  the  image  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
painted  on  a  board;  and,  chanting  litanies,  they  offered  up 
their  prayers  to  the  Lord  for  the  eternal  salvation  both  of 
themselves  and  of  those  to  whom  and  for  whom  they  had 
come. 

^thelberht  listened  attentively  to  their  message  but 
declined  to  accept  the  novel  religion.  But  he  gave  them 
residence  in  Canterbury  and  liberty  to  preach  their  Chris- 
tian message.  However,  within  a  few  months  the  king 
was  baptized,  and  Christianity  was  securely  implanted 
in  England.  From  Canterbury  missionaries  went  forth 
into  other  petty  kingdoms.  Success  did  not  always  come 
at  once  nor  was  it  always  permanent.  Heathenism  made 
many  efforts  to  stamp  out  the  new  religion.  But  Chris- 
tianity, bringing  a  wider  outlook,  a  constant  influence 
toward  order  and  unity,  an  impulse  toward  purer  morals 
and  intellectual  achievements,  gradually  displaced  the 
paganism  of  the  contending  tribes  and  became  the  most 
dominant  force  in  the  development  of  the  English  nation. 
The  Franks  Accept  Christianity  for  Political  Purposes. 
— The  Christianizing  of  the  German  tribes  began  with  the 
baptism  of  Clovis,  the  Prankish  king,  on  Christmas  Day, 
A.  D.  496.  Three  years  previously  Clovis  had  married  Clo- 
tilda, a  Burgundian  princess  and  a  Christian.  She  set  her- 
self to  convert  her  husband.  Half  persuaded  by  his  wife 
and  convinced  by  the  manifest  wisdom  of  choosing  Chris- 
tianity as  a  state  policy,  Clovis  threw  in  his  fortunes  with 
the  new  religion.  Many  of  the  Roman-Gallic  subjects  of 
Clovis  were  Christians,  and  the  Goths  in  southern  Gaul, 
whom  Clovis  wished  to  drive  across  the  Pyrenees,  were 
Arian  Christians.  Thus,  the  choice  of  the  king  drew  him- 
self and  his  subjects  into  closer  unity  and  arrayed  on  his 

233 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

side  the  Catholic  Church  in  his  struggles  with  the  Goths. 
Clovis  came  to  look  upon  his  campaigns  against  the  Arian 
Goths  and  the  pagan  German  tribes  as  religious  wars. 

The  Frankish  Church  Without  Spiritual  Power. — The 
Frankish  Church  under  Clovis  and  his  successors  flourished 
exceedingly.  It  had  little  connection  with  Rome  until  the 
pontificate  of  Gregory  the  Great.  It  was  a  national  church 
dominated  by  the  Frankish  kings.  But  the  Christianity  of 
the  Franks  was  far  from  ideal.  The  most  frightful  crimes 
were  perpetrated.  Greed,  sensuality,  and  ignorance  char- 
acterized the  clergy.  Gregory  of  Tours  writes  of  bishops 
who  commonly  were  carried  away  from  the  table  drunk; 
bishops  rode  armed  to  battle,  engaged  in  brawls,  adulteries, 
robberies,  and  assassinations.  Pagan  altars  stood  opposite 
Christian  churches,  and  men  worshiped  at  both  shrines. 
Gregory  the  Great  endeavored  to  awaken  the  Frankish 
Church  to  better  things.  He  could  not  do  much,  but  he 
inaugurated  the  beginning  of  a  nobler  day.  He  set  up  a 
new  intercourse  between  Rome  and  Gaul;  he  held  up  a 
purer  Christian  ideal  before  a  half-pagan  people ;  he  com- 
pelled a  new  type  of  bishop  to  be  known  where  the  episcopal 
office  had  become  the  leading  opportunity  for  avarice,  lust, 
and  general  lawlessness.  The  pontificate  of  Gregory  in  its 
relations  with  Frankish  Christianity  may  truly  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  churches  missionary  activities  of  the  seventh 
century. 

Missions   to   Pagan   Germany 

The  Irish  Missionaries. — The  children  of  Saint  Patrick 
were  filled  with  an  indefatigable  zeal  to  spread  their  reli- 
gion into  distant  lands.  The  ascetic  passion  and  the  mis- 
sion passion  were  united  in  them.  They  located  hermitages 
beyond  the  reach  of  man,  yet  they  ever  moved  out  of  their 
seclusion  to  win  new  converts  to  their  monastic  Christianity. 
Columba  was  a  restless  missionary.  He  carried  the  first 
gospel  message  into  northern  Scotland,  visited  many  islands 
of  the  Scottish  coast,  and  built  the  famous  lona  convent, 
where  he  died.  During  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries 
monasteries  were  established  by  these  Irish  missionaries 

234 


CHRISTIANITY'S  APPEAL  TO  EUROPE 

not  only  in  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  France,  but  also  among 
the  Frisians  and  Saxons  of  pagan  Germany.  These  Irish 
monks  "usually  traveled  in  bands  of  twelve,  preaching,  plant- 
ing churches,  and  gathering  their  converts  into  monasteries 
and  nunneries.  The  most  famous  of  these  Irish  mission- 
aries in  Europe  was  Saint  Columbanus.  He  first  crossed 
into  Britain,  then  into  Gaul,  where  a  decadent  Christianity 
existed  among  the  Franks  and  Burgundians.  Columbanus 
spent  several  stormy  years  among  the  Franks,  seeking  to 
purify  their  religion,  but  finally  was  expelled.  Then  he 
lived  a  brief  time  among  the  heathen  Alemanni,  at  Bre- 
gentz  on  Lake  Constance.  Here,  with  impetuous  zeal,  the 
missionaries  burned  the  temples  and  threw  the  idols  into 
the  lake.  These  violent  measures  infuriated  their  heathen 
neighbors,  but  the  monks  held  on  and  later,  at  Saint  Gall, 
established  a  monastery  famous  for  many  centuries.  Co- 
lumbanus later  built  a  monastery  at  Bobbio  in  Italy  among 
the  Lombards,  where  he  died. 

Anglo-Saxon  Missions  in  Northern  Europe. —  (a)  The 
failure  of  the  Irish  missionaries. — Irish  missionaries  failed 
to  organize  their  work  effectively.  It  was  due  rather  to  the 
missionaries  of  Britain,  with  their  greater  genius  to  organ- 
ize churches,  to  train  a  native  priesthood,  to  govern  monas- 
teries, and  to  accomplish  their  work  in  fellowship  with 
Rome  and  under  papal  direction,  that  the  German  tribes 
were  won  to  Christianity. 

(h)  Wilfrid,  bishop  of  York,  the  first  Anglo-Saxon  mis- 
sionary to  pagan  Germans. — In  a.  d.  678,  accompanied  by  a 
numerous  band  of  monks.,  Wilfrid  landed  among  the 
Frisians,  who  occupied  all  the  northeast  of  Germany.  He 
was  hospitably  received,  and  that  year  many  chiefs  and 
thousands  of  their  people  were  baptized.  Wilfrid  was  fol- 
lowed a  few  years  later  by  another  Saxon — Willibrord — 
who,  with  eleven  companions,  went  to  Utrecht.  A  native 
Frisian  church  was  organized,  but  little  permanent  success 
was  attained. 

(c)  Boniface  the  pre-eminent  missionary  to  the  Germanic 
pagans. — Boniface  was  trained  in  a  West-Saxon  monas- 
tery and,  refusing  his  election  to  the  abbacy,  set  out  for 

235 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  EEFORMERS 

Frisia.  Two  years  later,  a.  d.  718,  he  was  in  Rome  to  seek 
approval  of  his  mission.  The  next  three  years  were  spent 
with  Willibrord  at  Utrecht.  Then  he  began  a  mission  in 
Hesse  and  was  successful  in  winning  thousands  of  converts. 
He  was  called  to  Rome  and  consecrated  bishop  by  Gregory 
II.  His  episcopal  vows  pledged  his  supreme  loyalty  to  the 
papacy.  He  was  to  set  up  the  practices  of  the  Roman 
Church  in  his  missions  and  have  no  fellowship  with  bishops 
who  did  not  conform  to  the  canons  recognized  by  Rome. 
In  732  he  was  consecrated  archbishop  by  Gregory  III  and 
made  the  papal  legate  in  the  northern  lands.  From  Hesse, 
Boniface  passed  into  Thuringia.  Everywhere  Boniface  won 
pagans  to  the  Christian  religion  and  corrected  abuses 
among  the  lax  and  indolent  priests  and  monks.  Here,  as  in 
Hesse,  he  founded  schools,  churches,  and  convents  for  men 
and  for  women.  He  established  the  episcopal  sees  of  Wurz- 
burg  and  Erfurt  in  Thuringia.  He  wished  to  preach  to 
the  pagans  of  Saxony,  but  Gregory  III  sent  him  into  Ba- 
varia to  reorganize  the  churches,  where  four  bishoprics 
were  established  to  bring  the  Christian  communities  into 
conformity  to  Rome.  From  742  to  753  Boniface  was  en- 
gaged in  reforms  affecting  the  Frankish  Church.  At  Doc- 
kum,  in  754,  he  and  his  party  were  set  upon  by  savages  and 
slain. 

(d)  Charlemagne  exhibits  another  type  of  missionary 
zeal. — The  Saxons  long  had  regarded  Christianity  as  the 
mark  of  Frankish  domination.  Charlemagne  marched 
against  them  in  a.  d.  772,  threw  down  the  national  idol  at 
Eresburg,  and  pillaged  its  temple.  In  776  the  Saxons  at- 
tacked the  Franks  but  were  defeated  by  Charlemagne,  and 
the  humbled  Saxons  promised  to  become  Christians.  Many 
thousands  were  baptized  at  a  great  assembly  at  Paderborn 
in  777.  Numerous  missionaries,  sent  among  the  Saxons  by 
Charlemagne,  destroyed  the  pagan  sanctuaries.  Several 
rebellions  broke  out,  and  thousands  were  beheaded  by 
Charlemagne;  and  from  795  to  804  thousands  of  Saxons 
who  refused  to  be  loyal  Christians  were  banished.  After 
a  third  of  the  population  had  been  exiled,  the  remainder 
of  the  pagans  yielded. 

236 


CHRISTIANITY'S  APPEAL  TO  EUROPE 

Summary  :  The  Coming  Kingdom 

Papal  Christianity  Given  to  the  Pagans. — It  was  not  the 

Christianity  of  Jesus  or  of  Paul  which  was  established  in 
these  pagan  lands;  it  was  the  Christianity  of  the  Nicene 
Creed  and,  eventually,  of  the  papacy;  and  such  Christianity 
did  not  make  an  impressive  and  unescapable  appeal  to  the 
moral  life.  It  was  a  prolonged  task  to  mold  the  morals 
of  paganism  into  conformity  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
It  has  not  yet  been  done.  But  it  was  better  than  paganism, 
and  its  acceptance  by  northern  Europe  was  a  noteworthy 
epoch  in  history. 

Characteristics  of  the  Missionary  Conquest  of  the  Ger- 
manic Nations. — There  are  at  least  four  interesting  ele- 
ments in  this  missionary  conquest  of  the  Germanic  nations. 
It  was  an  ascetic  and  monastic  Christianity  that  undertook 
the  more  heroic  tasks  and  accomplished  the  more  far-reach- 
ing results.  Women  played  no  mean  part  in  the  Christian- 
izing process.  The  Christian  wife  of  Clovis  was  the  chief 
agent  in  his  conversion.  Bertha,  the  Christian  spouse  of 
^thelberht,  prepared  the  liberal  mood  in  which  the  king 
received  the  mission  of  Augustine ;  and  many  of  the  noblest 
and  noted  women  of  England  followed  their  kinsmen  to 
pagan  Germany  to  spend  their  days  in  convents  to  train 
the  women  who  came  to  them  out  of  heathenism.  The 
abbesses  of  the  English  nunneries  frequently  came  from 
royal  families.  The  third  noteworthy  aspect  is  the  leader- 
ship taken  by  Irish  and  English  Christians  in  the  evangel- 
ization of  the  continent.  Finally,  the  missionary  expansion 
during  these  centuries  tended  toward  the  aggrandizement 
of  the  Roman  Church.  The  seed  sown  in  the  papal  mission 
of  St.  Augustine  bore  a  hundredfold. 

The  Church  Silently  Molds  a  Better  Humanity. — These 
centuries,  in  spite  of  all  barbarism,  were  great  centuries. 
The  Roman  Empire  in  the  West  passes  away;  barbarians 
possess  themselves  of  the  fair  provinces  of  the  once  glorious 
realm  of  Rome,  but  civilization  recovers  itself  anew.  New 
nations,  young,  vigorous,  and  alert,  arise  and  hold  in  their 
keeping  the  destiny  of  Europe;  but  through  all  this  inde- 

237 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  REFORMERS 

pendence  and  brutality  the  church  is  silently  molding  them 
into  a  better  humanity.  Many  abuses  the  church  could  not 
overcome;  many  evils  were  tolerated  within  the  church; 
Christianity  was  far  from  pure  and  holy :  but  the  general 
tendency  was  toward  civilization  and  a  nobler  world  order. 
The  Kingdom  was  coming. 

The  Missionary  Torch 

Christianity  Is  Essentially  Missionary. — Jesus  lighted  a 
new  ideal  of  life  through  his  teaching  and  his  living  and, 
touching  the  hopes  and  fears  of  his  disciples  until  their 
lives  too  flamed  into  triumph,  sent  them  forth  to  blazon 
a  new  individual  and  social  goal.  The  Christian  experi- 
ence of  Jesus  and  of  those  who  knew  him  best  was  in  essence 
missionary.  It  lived  by  restatement.  It  flowered  in  pub- 
lication. Any  Christianity  that  keeps  its  message  to  itself 
is  an  adulteration.  Any  Christian  whose  religious  thinking 
is  not  a  passion  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  nearest  and  to 
the  farthest  man,  socially  and  geographically,  does  not  be- 
long to  the  inner  company  of  Christ. 

Shall  We  Blame  or  Love? — The  church  has  committed 
many  crimes  in  the  name  of  religion.  It  has  perpetrated 
enough  wrongs  and  been  indifferent  toward  enough  just 
cries  for  help  to  arouse  in  many  persons  antipathy  and 
denunciation.  But  the  church  often  has  been  the  bulwark 
of  a  decadent  age.  It  rendered  the  world  an  incomparable 
service  when  the  Roman  Empire  was  going  to  pieces.  The 
Christian  missions  of  the  fifth  to  the  eighth  centuries  saved 
the  world  from  ruin.  The  church  never  yet  has  been  ideal. 
It  still  shrinks  from  individual  evangelism,  foreign  and 
domestic  missions,  and  especially  from  an  earnest  and  un- 
hesitating leadership  in  the  economic  clashes  of  moderr 
society.  Our  criticisms  of  the  church  must  be  in  love,  not 
hate ;  in  hope,  not  despair.  Let  us  love  the  church  with  new 
passion  and  give  it  a  worthy  and  glorious  place  in  the  con- 
flict between  right  and  wrong. 

The  Bettering  of  the  Church  Ever  Has  Been  Accom- 
plished by  Individuals. — It  is  not  done  by  legislation  nor 

238 


CHRISTIANITY'S  APPEAL  TO  EUROPE 

by  some  miracle  of  mass  movements.  Individual  men  and 
women,  seeing  the  great  need,  must  give  themselves  to  the 
great  task.  Patrick,  Columba,  Columbanus,  Willibrord, 
Boniface,  Augustine,  Gregory — these  are  the  great  names 
of  the  age  we  have  been  studying.  They  waited  for  no 
social  uprising ;  they  faced  the  masses  with  their  individual 
vision.  By  stripping  themselves  of  luxury  they  possessed 
the  spirit  of  hazard  unto  death.  God  alone  knows  the  need, 
of  our  age,  of  men  and  women  who  can  dare  all  for  the 
Christian  conquest  of  the  institutions  of  the  world.  In  the 
midst  of  appalling  need  we  must  lift  our  souls  to  God. 
He  will  gird  us  for  the  great  task. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  To  what  extent  had  the  empire  been  Christianized  by 
350? 

2.  By   what   methods   had   Christianity   been   advanced    in 
the  Roman  world? 

3.  Discuss  the  character  of  the  gospel  message  during  this 
period. 

4.  What  efforts  were  made  to  Christianize  the  barbarians 
before  they  crossed  the  boundaries  of  the  empire? 

5.  Discuss  the  influence  of  Ulfila. 

6.  Discuss  the  nature  of  the  Irish  missions. 

7.  In  what  way  did  Christianity  win   in   England  at  this 
time? 

8.  Discuss  the  conversion  of  the  Franks  and  the  character  of 
their  Christianity. 

9.  What  did  Gregory  do  for  the  Frankish  Church? 

10.  What  was  the  method  of  the  Irish  missionaries? 

11.  Discuss  the  missionary  work  of  Wilfrid,  Boniface,  and 
Charlemagne. 

12.  Discuss   the  part  women  had  in  these  missionary  ac- 
tivities. 

13.  From  which   sections  came  the  missionary  spirit   and 
the  evangelists? 

14.  How  did  the  missions  in  northern  Europe  strengthen 
the  papacy? 

15.  In  what  sense  was  the  extension  of  the  church   from 
the  sixth  to  the  eighth  century  the  salvation  of  civilization? 

Selected  Eeadings 

A  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Walker,  pages  129-34, 
195-202. 

239 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

The  Church  and  the  Barbarians,  Hutton,  pages  113-42. 

The  Latin  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages,  Lagarde,  pages  1- 
30. 

The  Medieval  Mind,  Taylor,  Volume  II,  pages  169-204. 

Source  Book  for  Ancient  Church  History,  Ayer,  pages 
564-614. 


240 


CHAPTER    XIX 

THE  MONASTIC  IDEAL  OF  THE  KINGDOM 

No  chapter  of  Christian  history  is  richer  in  interest 
or  more  the  subject  equally  of  praise  and  blame  than  that 
which  tells  the  story  of  that  ideal  of  piety  and  that  mode 
of  life  termed  monasticism.  At  the  center  of  the  best 
monastic  life  was  the  desire  to  fulfill  Christ's  own  concep- 
tion of  human  privilege  and  duty — namely,  to  live  as 
brothers  devoted  to  the  will  of  God.  Any  effort  to  fulfill 
such  an  ideal  has  a  place  in  the  developing  kingdom 
of  God.  That  such  multitudes  of  men  and  women  through 
several  centuries  found  the  convent  a  spiritual  household 
makes  an  understanding  of  monasticism  important  to  every 
student. 

The  Beginnings  op  Christian  Monasticism 

The  Origin  of  Monasticism. — The  roots  of  monasticism 
are  to  be  found  in  the  mystical  and  ascetic  tendencies  of  the 
Christianity  of  the  apostolic  age.  To  know  Christ  fully 
was  to  withdraw  from  even  some  of  the  lawful  activities  of 
life.  Fasting  was  the  simplest  form  of  the  ascetic  life,  but 
celibacy  was  always  the  chief  asceticism.  At  an  early  date 
female  ascetics  received  ecclesiastical  recognition.  Appar- 
ently, from  the  quotation  below,  there  were  organized  com- 
munities for  women  by  the  middle  of  the  third  century. 
By  this  date  there  were  also  male  ascetics  who  lived  the 
hermit  life  near  the  towns  and  villages.  A  certain  Anthony, 
whom  the  church  Fathers  soon  called  the  Great,  was  the 
inaugurator  of  Christian  monasticism.  He  was  the  son  of 
a  well-to-do  Egyptian  family  of  the  village  of  Coma. 
Athanasius  (296-373)  has  written  his  biography: 

About  six  months  after  the  death  of  his  parents,  going 
according  to  custom  into  the  Lord's  house,  he  communed 
with  himself  and  reflected   as   he   walked  how  the  apostles 

241 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

left  all  and  followed  the  Saviour;  and  how  they  in  the  Acts 
sold  their  possessions  and  brought  and  laid  them  at  the 
apostles'  feet  for  distribution  to  the  needy,  and  what  and  how 
great  a  hope  was  laid  up  for  them  in  heaven.  Pondering 
over  these  things,  he  entered  the  church,  and  it  happened 
that  the  gospel  was  being  read.  .  .  .  "If  thou  wouldst  be 
perfect,  go  and  sell  that  thou  hast  and  give  to  the  poor;  and 
come  and  follow  me,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven." 
Anthony,  as  though  God  had  put  him  in  mind  of  the  saints, 
and  the  passage  had  been  read  on  his  account,  went  out  im- 
mediately from  the  church  and  gave  the  possessions  of  his 
forefathers  to  the  villagers.  .  .  .  Having  committed  his  sis- 
ter to  known  and  faithful  virgins  and  put  her  into  a  convent, 
he  henceforth  devoted  himself  outside  his  house  to  discipline. 
So  for  nearly  twenty  years  he  continued  training  himself  in 
solitude,  never  going  forth  and  seldom  seen  by  any.  After 
this,  when  many  were  eager  to  imitate  his  discipline,  and  his 
acquaintances  came,  Anthony  persuaded  many  to  embrace  the 
solitary  life.  Thus  it  happened  that  cells  arose  even  in 
the  mountains,  and  the  desert  was  colonized  by  monks,  who 
came  forth  from  their  own  people  and  enrolled  themselves 
for  the  citizenship  in  the  heavens.' 

The  Hermit  Not  a  Monastic. — Egyptian  monasticism 

reached  its  height  by  400.  Multiplied  thousands  of  men 
and  many  women  embraced  this  way  to  save  their  souls. 
This  Egyptian  ascetic  life,  strictly  speaking,  was  not  mo- 
nasticism ;  it  resembled  much  more  closely  the  solitary  her- 
mit^s  life.  This  form  of  asceticism  spread  into  Greek  lands, 
where,  under  Saint  Basil,  it  took  on  an  epoch-making  form 
that  has  continued  until  our  day.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  in 
his  panegyric  on  Basil  (329-79),  says: 

He  reconciled  most  excellently  and  united  the  solitary  and 
the  community  life.  These  had  been  in  many  respects  at 
variance  and  dissension.  He  founded  cells  for  hermits,  but  at 
no  great  distance  from  his  cenobitic  communities.^ 

Basil  believed  that  the  monastic  life  was  superior  to 
the  hermitage.  His  monks  lived  under  a  common  rule, 
ate  at  a  common  table,  were  engaged  in  the  same  labors 
and  philanthropic  ministries,  and  united  in  the  same 
prayers. 

^Nicene  and  Post-Nicene  Fathers,  Volume  IV,  page  196  ff.,  abridged. 
ilbid..  Volume  VII,  page  415  f. 

242 


MONASTIC  IDEAL  OF  THE  KINGDOM 

Monastic  Life  Introduced  Into  Rome  by  Athanasius  in 

339. — By  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  there  were  nu- 
merous monasteries  for  men  and  women  in  Rome  and 
throughout  Italy.  Highborn  patrician  ladies  made  it  the 
vogue  in  western  Europe.  Paula,  her  widowed  daughter, 
whose  funeral  car  was  followed  by  the  nobility  of  Rome, 
and  of  whom  Jerome  declared,  "In  my  writings  she  will 
never  die,^^  Eustochium,  Mancella,  and  Sophronia  are 
names  of  nuns  recruited  from  families  of  position  and 
wealth  which  live  in  Jerome's  pages.  "I  had  the  joy," 
writes  Jerome  to  Principia,  a  nun  of  Rome,  "of  seeing 
Rome  transformed  into  another  Jerusalem.  Monastic  es- 
tablishments for  virgins  became  numerous,  and  of  hermits 
there  were  countless  numbers.'^ 

Monasticism  Spreads. — Augustine  introduced  the  monas- 
tery into  Africa,  and  during  the  fourth  century  monasti- 
cism became  widely  established  in  Gaul.  Saint  Martin,  of 
Tours,  is  the  foremost  of  these  early  founders.  At  Poitiers, 
in  362,  and  at  Tours,  in  373,  monasteries  were  organized  by 
him.  From  Gaul  monks  traveled  to  Ireland  and  thence 
to  England  and  Scotland ;  and  from  Ireland  the  movement 
swept  back  with  new  force  into  Gaul  under  Columbanus 
and  his  followers. 

The  Benedictine  Rule 

Benedict. — After  Basil,  Benedict  is  the  next  great  name 
in  monastic  history.  Born  of  a  noble  Umbrian  family  near 
Spoleto  in  480,  he  was  sent  to  Rome  to  be  educated.  Re- 
coiling from  the  city's  licentiousness,  he  withdrew  from 
the  world  and  became  a  monk.  Three  years  were  passed 
in  solitude  near  Subiaco.  Disciples  flocked  to  him  here  in 
such  numbers  that  he  established  a  monastery.  Later  he 
migrated  to  Monte  Cassino,  in  which  monastery  his  Rule 
was  developed.  This  was  to  govern  monastic  life  for  more 
than  seven  centuries.  Previous  to  Benedict  the  monastic 
life  never  had  been  sharply  defined  and  regulated  by  pre- 
cise vows  and  detailed  rules.  Often  to  assume  the  monas- 
tic habit  was  quite  sufficient  to  set  one  apart  for  the  monas- 

243 


APOSTLES,  FATHEKS,  AND  REFOEMERS 

tic  life.  It  was  Benedict's  mission  to  formulate  a  prac- 
tical code  for  the  life  within  the  monastery. 

The  Benedictine  Eule. — The  monks  rose  early,  usually  at 
two  o'clock,  and  repaired  to  the  church  for  what  was  called 
the  night  office,  which  consisted  of  fourteen  psalms  and 
certain  other  Scriptures  chanted  throughout.  This  service 
lasted  from  an  hour  to  an  hour  and  a  half.  Then  followed 
a  period,  brief  in  summer,  longer  in  winter,  devoted  to 
private  reading  of  Scripture  or  prayer.  Lauds,  a  chanted 
service  in  the  church,  were  celebrated  at  dawn;  and  Prime, 
similarly  constituted,  at  sunrise.  Each  of  these  required  a 
half  hour.  The  monks  then  turned  to  manual  labor.  Each 
monastery  had  its  gardens,  fields,  mills,  bakery,  and  various 
shops.  It  was  designed  to  supply  its  own  wants.  Dinner 
was  eaten  sometimes  at  twelve,  sometimes  at  three.  The 
remainder  of  the  canonical  hours  of  prayer,  consisting  of 
brief  chanted  services — Terce,  Sext,  None,  Vespers,  and 
Complin, — were  distributed  through  the  afternoon  and 
ended  at  twilight.  Vespers,  in  summer,  were  followed  by 
supper,  and  all  retired  to  rest  before  there  was  need  of 
lighted  candles.  In  this  schedule  about  four  and  one  half 
hours  were  devoted  to  the  daily  chanting  of  the  church  serv- 
ices. This  was  preeminently  the  ^Vork  of  God";  but  the 
six  or  seven  hours  given  to  manual  labor  were  also  a  real 
service  of  worship.  To  labor  was  to  pray.  From  three 
to  five  hours  were  spent  in  daily  reading  of  the  Bible  and 
the  church  Fathers. 

The  Object  and  Government  of  the  Monastery. — The 
monks  were  bound  to  the  monastery  where  they  took  their 
vows,  and  they  were  obligated  for  life.  The  aim  of  Benedict 
was  to  train  men  into  saintly  living ;  not  to  raise  up  priests, 
missionaries,  and  educators.  The  monastery  in  some  par- 
ticulars was  a  democratic  community:  it  was  governed 
by  an  abbot,  who  was  elected  for  life  by  the  suffrage  of  all 
the  monks.  Other  officials  were  appointed  by  the  abbot  and 
held  office  according  to  his  will.  The  abbot  was  required 
to  counsel  with  his  monks,  but  all  decisions  were  made  by 
him  and  the  others  were  bound  to  obey. 

Benedictine  Influence. — The  Benedictine  Rule  was  in- 
244 


MONASTIC  IDEAL  OF  THE  KINGDOM 

troduced  by  Augustine  in  England  and  was  spread  by  Boni- 
face through  Frankland  and  established  in  his  missions 
among  the  pagan  Germans.  In  time  it  supplanted  all  other 
conceptions  of  the  cenobitic  life  throughout  the  region  of 
papal  influence.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  there  was 
no  Benedictine  order.  Plonks  were  under  the  authority  of 
their  own  abbots  only.  No  monastery  exercised  jurisdiction 
over  any  other.  The  Benedictine  Eule  w^as  adopted  by 
the  several  convents  because  it  best  expressed  the  monk- 
ish ideal.  The  monks  of  this  period  of  Benedictine  influ- 
ence, until  the  rise  of  the  religious  orders,  were  laymen. 
Under  the  Benedictine  Rule  only  sufficient  monks  were 
ordained  to  conduct  the  church  services.  The  abbots  them- 
selves were  not  usually  priests. 

Eeligious  Ordees 

Reformed  Benedictines. — By  the  tenth  century  many 
abuses  crept  into  the  monasteries,  and  monks  and  nuns 
were  not  always  living  up  to  the  Benedictine  ideal.  The 
spirit  of  reform  was  the  opportunity  for  the  rise  of  religious 
orders. 

(a)  Cluny  was  the  first  of  these. — The  order  takes  its 
name  from  the  monastery  established  at  the  French  village 
of  Cluny  in  910.  During  the  next  two  centuries,  under  the 
leadership  of  its  abbots,  who  were  men  of  character  and 
ability,  Cluny,  both  by  building  new  monasteries  and  by 
persuading  others  to  accept  its  leadership,  extended  its 
sway  until  more  than  three  hundred  monastic  establish- 
ments became  subject  to  Cluny.  The  abbot  of  Cluny  was 
the  sovereign  of  all  the  monks  within  these  subject  con- 
vents; he  appointed  all  the  various  priors;  every  member 
of  the  order  had  to  spend  some  years  at  Cluny;  and  the 
abbot  also  appointed  his  successor.  This  order,  especially 
in  its  abbots,  wielded  great  influence  and  power.  The 
abbey  church  at  Cluny,  until  Saint  Peter's  at  Rome  was 
completed,  was  the  largest  Christian  church  in  Europe. 
The  order  itself  was  the  greatest  religious  force  in  the 
Latin  church  of  two  centuries.  The  internal  reforms,  if 
they  may  be  considered  such,  consisted  in  the  abandonment 

245 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  EEFORMERS 

of  manual  labor  and  the  lengthening  of  the  church  services 
until  they  occupied  nearly  the  whole  day. 

(b)  The  Cistercians. — In  1098  a  monastery  was  founded 
at  Citeaux,  whose  monks  began  to  live  strictly  in  accord 
with  the  Benedictine  Rule.  Within  a  few  years  this  monas- 
tery, with  its  dependencies,  rivaled  Cluny  in  its  influence 
and  in  course  of  time  supplanted  the  laxer  order. 
The  Cistercians  reached  their  greatest  power  during  the 
fifteenth  century,  when  they  numbered  about  750  convents. 
In  government  each  monastery  was  under  its  own  abbot, 
as  the  Benedictine  Rule  provided.  But  the  abbot  of  Citeaux 
was  accorded  inquisitorial  rights  in  all  monasteries,  and 
the  abbots  of  all  the  convents  of  the  order  assembled  in 
annual  chapter  at  Citeaux,  to  whose  authority  all  estab- 
lishments were  subject.  The  Cistercians  reinstated  the 
strict  Benedictine  Rule.  Manual  labor,  which  Cluny  had 
discarded,  was  established  rigorously.  The  Cistercians  be- 
came the  great  farmers  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centu- 
ries. They  were  expert  sheep,  cattle,  and  horse  breeders, 
and  contributed  largely  to  the  commercial  progress  of 
Western  Europe.  Their  operations  became  so  vast  that  lay 
brothers,  who  did  not  participate  in  the  chanting  of  the 
oflSces,  were  enrolled  in  the  order.  To  them  fell  the  chief 
labors  of  the  fields  and  shops.  At  times  there  were  as 
many  as  three  hundred  lay  brothers  in  one  abbey. 

(c)  The  Trappists. — In  course  of  time  the  Cistercians 
relaxed  their  rules.  But  something  in  the  strict  monastic 
ideal  never  ceases  to  appeal  to  the  world.  In  the  Cistercian 
convent  of  La  Trappe  in  France  a  stricter  rule  was  estab- 
lished in  the  last  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Modeled  after  the  early  Cistercians,  this  order  continues 
to  the  present  day.  Its  members  exist  in  many  countries 
and  possess  more  than  half  a  hundred  establishments. 

The  Augustinian  Canons  a  New  Departure  in  Monastic 
life. — In  order  to  regulate  better  the  life  of  priests  in  the 
eleventh  century,  in  many  places  the  clergy  took  the  mo- 
nastic vows  of  chastity,  poverty,  and  obedience,  and  were 
organized  into  congregations.  Their  rule  was  drawn  from 
the  writings  of  Saint  Augustine.     The  monastic  life  for 

246 


MONASTIC  IDEAL  OF  THE  KINGDOM 

them  became  the  means  through  which  they  could  better 
serve  the  churches  and  people  as  priests.  The  houses  of  the 
Augustinian  canons  became  very  numerous  during  the 
later  Middle  Ages.  Most  of  them,  however,  did  not  sur- 
vive the  Reformation. 

The  Mendicant  Orders. — In  the  thirteenth  century  the 
centers  of  civilization  began  to  shift  from  the  feudal  estates 
to  the  towns  and  cities.  New  intellectual,  social,  and 
political  horizons  opened.  The  growing  commerce  of  the 
towns  and  the  increasing  importance  of  handicrafts  and 
guilds  were  revealing  and  adding  a  new  value  to  man.  Per- 
haps the  need  of  the  poor  in  the  towns,  together  with  a 
new  sense  of  their  value,  set  men  thinking  again  of  the 
lowly  ministry  of  Jesus.  At  any  rate,  the  mendicant  friars, 
modeling  their  lives  upon  that  of  the  Nazarene,  arose  and 
went  forth  to  minister  to  their  age. 

(a)  The  Franciscans. — This  religious  fraternity  arose  in 
1209,  with  the  decision  of  Francis  of  Assisi  to  leave  his 
father^s  home  and,  in  imitation  of  Jesus,  devote  himself  to 
the  care  of  the  sick  and  the  service  of  the  poor.  This  ideal 
found  many  responsive  hearts.  At  the  time  of  Francis^ 
death,  twenty  years  later,  at  least  fifty  thousand  men  had 
assumed  the  Franciscan  habit  and  lived  the  Franciscan  life. 
Their  ideal  was  poverty  and  service.  They  possessed  no 
land,  handled  no  money,  accumulated  no  wealth.  So  far 
as  possible  they  labored  to  supply  themselves  with  food; 
when  no  chance  was  found  to  earn  their  daily  food,  they 
begged.  The  order  spread  into  all  lands  and  by  the  time 
of  the  Eeformation  numbered  at  least  100,000.  The  Fran- 
ciscans have  had  a  stormy  history  but  they  exist  to-day, 
in  three  branches,  to  the  number  of  25,000.  The  Capu- 
chins, who  have  kept  closest  to  the  original  ideal  of  poverty 
and  the  spiritual  ministry  of  the  poor,  have  more  than  500 
monasteries  and  are  to-day  at  work  in  nearly  200  mission 
stations. 

(&)  The  Dominicans. — This  order  was  founded  by  Dom- 
inic, an  Augustinian  canon,  at  Osma,  in  Spain.  Seeing  the 
need  of  preaching  to  heretics,  pagans,  and  the  poor,  Dominic 
organized  his  order  of  preaching  friars  in  1215.   The  friars 

247 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

were  bound  by  the  Augustinian  Rule.  Like  the  Franciscans, 
they  were  to  possess  no  income  but  were  to  live  by  charity 
and  begging.  Their  only  property  was  churches  and  their 
monasteries.  But  the  Dominican  Friars  were  bound  to  no 
individual  house,  but  to  the  order.  Their  missions  extended 
to  the  still  pagan  districts  of  Denmark,  Poland,  Prussia, 
and  Russia.  They  undertook  also  missions  to  China,  Tibet, 
Mohammedan  countries,  Persia,  India,  and  the  Americas. 
They  settled  in  university  towns  and  became  leading  pro- 
fessors in  the  great  medieval  universities.  They  were  the 
chief  promoters  of  the  Inquisition.  They  have  to-day  more 
than  three  hundred  friaries. 

(c)  The  Carmelites. — At  about  the  middle  of  the  twelfth 
century  eleven  crusaders  became  hermits  on  Mount  Carmel. 
A  century  later  these  hermits,  who  had  increased  in  num- 
ber, were  driven  by  the  Moslem  conquest  of  Palestine  to 
Cyprus,  from  which  place  the  order  spread  through  western 
Europe.  By  this  time  the  hermit  life  had  given  place  to 
the  cenobitical,  and  the  order  was  organized  on  the  men- 
dicant model.  The  order  became  popular  and  influential. 
They  were  known  as  "White  Friars,^'  from  the  white  mantle 
worn  over  the  dark  brown  garb.  They  still  carry  on  mis- 
sions in  South  America,  India,  and  Persia,  and  number 
some  two  thousand  friars. 

(d)  The  Augustinian  Hermits. — At  about  the  middle  of 
the  thirteenth  century  the  popes  succeeded  in  uniting  vari- 
ous groups  of  hermits  of  Italy  into  a  religious  order  gov- 
erned by  the  Rule  of  Saint  Augustine.  It  soon  was 
modeled  after  the  other  mendicant  orders  and  rapidly  in- 
creased. At  the  threshold  of  the  Reformation  these  num- 
bered some  two  thousand  friaries  and  thirty  thousand 
monks.  The  order  possesses  more  than  a  hundred  houses 
in  Europe  and  America. 

Military  and  Redemptive  Oedees 

The  Military  Orders. — The  crusades  against  the  Moslems 
called  for  the  two  classes  of  orders  here  indicated.  The 
Knights  of  Saint  John  developed  out  of  a  hospital  for  pil- 
grims in  Jerusalem   and   about   1120   assumed  military 

248 


MONASTIC  IDEAL  OF  THE  KINGDOM 

character.  The  Knights  Templars  began  as  a  military 
order  in  1119,  and  their  first  temple  was  the  present  El- 
Aksa  Mosque  in  Jerusalem.  The  Teutonic  Knights  were 
constituted  during  the  third  crusade  in  1198.  These  three 
orders  followed  the  Augustinian  Eule  and  were  bound  by 
the  monastic  vows  of  chastity,  poverty,  and  obedience. 
Their  avowed  object  was  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  cross  in 
Moslem  lands. 

The  Orders  of  Ransom. — These  were  instituted  to  rescue 
Christian  captives  from  Mohammedan  lands.  The  Trin- 
itarians, founded  in  1198,  were  chief  of  this  type  of  reli- 
gious communities.  They  followed  the  rule  of  the  Augus- 
tinian Canons.  At  one  time  they  possessed  eight  hun- 
dred convents.  Vast  sums  were  raised  to  ransom  captives ; 
but  when  money  failed,  the  members  of  the  order  offered 
themselves  in  exchange  for  Christians  held  captive  by  the 
Moslems.  The  order  still  has  several  hundred  members, 
who  devote  themselves  to  the  ransom  of  Negro  slaves. 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

Benefits  of  Monasticism. — There  were,  of  course,  vast 
abuses  which  cursed  monastic  life.  The  vows  of  chastity, 
poverty,  and  obedience  frequently  were  transgressed.  The 
church  has  much  in  these  centuries  for  which  it  must 
blush  with  shame.  But  the  monastic  orders,  like  the  creeds 
and  the  papacy,  are  the  natural  evolution  of  their  times. 
It  was  a  tumbled  world  through  which  Christianity  was 
making  its  way  from  the  fall  of  the  Eoman  Empire  until 
the  modern  age  dawned  in  the  Eenaissance;  and  the  bar- 
barous, superstitious  greeds  and  lusts  were  not  kept  wholly 
without  the  Christian  society.  It  is  the  glory  of  the  monks 
that  they  were  trying  to  save  their  souls.  They  kept  alive 
the  sense  of  the  worth  of  the  human  spirit  in  a  crass  age. 
Multiplied  thousands  of  men  and  women  became  of  this 
mind.  There  were  enrolled  among  them  some  of  the  most 
cultured,  the  most  intellectual,  the  most  human,  and  most 
devout  men  of  their  generations.  Certain  social  invalids — 
the  poor,  the  sinful,  the  exiled,  the  outraged,  and  the  aged — 
sought  these  houses  of  refuge;  but  the  vast  majority  of 

249 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

these  men  and  women  were  recruited  from  the  prosperous 
and  the  strong.  To  mention  Benedict,  Gregory  the  Great, 
Augustine  of  Hippo,  Augustine  of  Canterbury,  Colum- 
banus,  Boniface,  Bede,  Alcuin,  Lanfranc  and  Ansehn  of 
Bee,  Hildebrand,  Bernard,  Francis  of  Assisi,  Dominic;  the 
later  Franciscans,  Roger  Bacon,  Bonaventura,  Duns  Sco- 
tus  and  Occam;  the  Dominicans,  Thomas  Aquinas  and  Sa- 
vonarola; the  Carmelites,  Saint  Teresa  and  Juan  of  the 
Cross,  and  the  Augustinian  hermit,  Martin  Luther,  is 
enough  to  lift  monasticism  into  the  respect  of  the  world. 

Humanitarian  and  Other  Contributions. — Incidentally, 
in  saving  their  souls,  the  monks  established  the  first  hos- 
pitals and  the  first  insane  asylums  (Valencia,  Spain,  1409)  ; 
became  the  librarians  of  their  centuries;  cleared  thousands 
of  acres  of  European  wilds  and  laid  them  under  cultivation ; 
built  some  of  the  finest  and  most-enduring  edifices  of  their 
times;  taught  the  dignity  of  toil  and  the  beauty  of  a  well- 
ordered  life;  became  the  exemplary  farmers  of  western 
Europe;  introduced  Sunday  rest  among  the  toilers  of 
Europe;  became  the  scholars  and  the  physicians  of  their 
age ;  were  the  final  arbiters  in  many  a  quarrel  of  state ;  were 
the  bulwark  in  the  wars  against  the  infidel;  and  were  the 
great  missionaries  of  the  church  during  many  centuries. 

The  Narrow  Gate 

Christianity  Ever  Asks  for  Man's  Supreme  Devotion. — 

It  challenges  the  last  element  of  human  loyalty  and  devo- 
tion. "^'If  any  man  would  come  after  me,  ...  let  him 
take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me"  is  the  unbroken  primary 
law  of  Christian  discipleship.  The  monastic  life  was  an 
attempt  to  follow  Jesus.  The  great  monastic  leaders,  espe- 
cially Francis  and  Dominic,  held  his  ideal.  Monasticism 
at  its  best  was  not  cowardice  but  heroism.  It  was  a  brave 
effort  to  enter  in  by  the  narrow  gate.  No  one  ever  really 
entered  into  the  Kingdom  except  by  the  narrow  gate  of 
much  renunciation.  Mission  lands  are  praying  for  hospi- 
tals, schools,  and  churches.  Our  cities  are  teeming  with 
evils  whose  tragedies  implore  the  fortunate  to  dedicate  their 

250 


MONASTIC  IDEAL  OF  THE  KINGDOM 

possessions  to  the  advancement  of  the  common  welfare. 
Perhaps  you  should  rededicate  yourself  to  that  which  ever 
is  the  crying  need  and  begging  opportunity  of  Christian 
discipleship :  the  presenting  in  private  conversation  the 
claims  of  Christ  upon  the  thought,  love,  and  action  of  your 
nearest  fellow  men. 

God  Wants  You  to  Hazard  Something  for  Jesus  Christ. 
— If  you  shirk  all  the  heroic  tasks  of  the  world,  who  will 
not  brand  you  through  all  eternity  as  a  skulking  coward? 
To  the  end  of  God's  day  a  penalty  remains  for  those  who, 
having  it  in  them  to  be  heroes,  choose  instead  to  remain  in 
the  crowd  for  whom  the  heroes  fight  and  die.  To  say  that 
our  sympathies  lie  with  Jesus  is  not  enough  to  number  us 
among  his  disciples;  real  discipleship  is  measured  by  the 
sacrifices  we  make  on  his  behalf.  If  you  do  not  feel  your 
discipleship  a  living  thing  with  you,  it  is  because  you  have 
carried  no  cross  and  gone  to  no  Calvary  for  Christ. 
Let  us  stop  trying  to  be  respectable  Christians;  let  us  be 
useful  Christians.  The  soul  absorbed  in  the  cares  or  pleas- 
ures of  this  world  is  twice  housed  in  clay.  We  are  natural 
only  when  we  look  at  the  stars  and  think  of  God  and  give 
ourselves  with  the  most-exacting  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
Christ. 

Lavish  Love. — Love  that  does  not  count  the  cost  is  the 
only  power  that  cannot  be  pushed  from  its  throne.  It  was 
the  uncalculating  love  of  Jesus  which  made  him  the  world's 
Christ.  It  is  the  lavish  outpouring  of  love  in  Francis  of 
Assisi  which  gave  his  movement  the  freshness  and  the 
beauty  of  early  Christianity  and  which  endears  him  to  every 
brother  of  Jesus  Christ.  Jesus  cares  little  for  our  applause ; 
he  is  waiting  for  our  sacrificial  love.  It  signifies  little  that 
a  Christian  nation  opens  a  market  in  the  Congo;  it  must 
open  its  heart  there  too.  A  pauperized  community  is  indif- 
ferent to  a  social  survey;  it  flares  with  hope  at  even  one 
brave,  strong  woman's  self-sacrificing  Christian  love. 

SUGGESTIOXS  FOR  ClASS  DISCUSSION 

1.  When  and  where  did  monasticism  get  its  start? 

2.  What  was  the  character  of  early  monasticism? 

251 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

3.  Who  was  Benedict  and  what  was  the  nature  of  his 
"Rule"? 

4.  Discuss  the  government  of  the  monastery. 

5.  State  some  of  the  abuses  which  developed  in  the  monas- 
teries and  nunneries. 

6.  How  did  the  religious  orders  go  about  effecting  a 
reform? 

7.  Discuss  Cluny;  the  Cistercians;  the  Trappists. 

8.  In  what  sense  were  the  Augustinian  Canons  a  new 
departure  in  monastic  life? 

9.  What  were  the  character  and  influence  of  the  Franciscans, 
the  Dominicans,  the  Carmelites,  and  the  Augustinian  hermits? 

10.  What  was  the  object  of  the  military  orders? 

11.  Discuss  the  work  done  by  the  "orders   of  ransom." 

12.  What  spiritual  contribution  did  the  monks  make  to  the 
Kingdom  in  their  day? 

13.  In  what  sense  were  the  hospitals,  insane  asylums,  etc., 
an  evidence  of  the  Kingdom's  progress? 

14.  State  the  value  of  the  spirit  of  renunciation  for  Chris- 
tians of  every  time. 

Selected  Readings 

Cambridge  Medieval  History,  Volume  I,  Chapter  XVIII. 

Roman  Society  in  the  Last  Century  of  the  Western  Empire, 
Dill,  pages  180-86. 

Studies  in  Mystical  Religion,  Jones,  Chapter  IX. 

The  Latin  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages,  Lagarde,  page  83- 
125. 

A  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Walker,  pages  136-40; 
218-25;    245-48;   254-61. 

Source  Book  for  Ancient  Church  History,  Ayer,  pages  630-44. 

History  of  Sacerdotal  Celibacy,  Lea,  Volume  I,  pages  101- 
29;  451-58. 


252 


CHAPTER  XX 

CRUSADING  FOR  THE  KINGDOM 

Fkom  1100  to  1500  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  sought 
to  extend  its  interests  and  what  it  considered  the  interests 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  by  a  prolonged  series  of  holy  wars. 
There  was  scarcely  a  year  during  these  four  centuries 
when  there  was  not  sounded  somewhere  from  Portugal  to 
Palestine  the  call  to  take  up  arms  in  behalf  of  Chris- 
tianity. These  wars  in  behalf  of  the  Cross  are  called 
crusades.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  indicate  the 
rise  of  this  military  conception  of  the  Kingdom,  to  outline 
the  object  of  the  crusades,  and  to  estimate  their  religious 
significance. 

The  Church  of  the  Crusades 

A  Military  Society. — From  the  time  of  the  barbarian 

invasions  until  the  rise  of  modern  nations  the  church  lived 
in  the  midst  of  continuous  wars  between  petty  kingdoms. 
Feudalism  was  an  armed  society  and  instilled  into  every 
aspiring  youth  the  beauty  and  the  honor  of  war.  Church 
positions  came  to  be  filled  with  men  of  warlike  minds  and 
training.  Bishops,  archbishops,  and  abbots,  through  their 
proprietorship  of  lands,  were  part  of  the  feudal  system  and 
therefore  stood  ready  to  ride  at  the  head  of  their  armed 
retainers.  The  church  attempted  to  regulate  the  fighting 
spirit  of  these  centuries  but  often  in  vain.  The  "Truce  of 
God"  proclaimed  by  the  church  often  was  broken.  The  call 
to  arms  against  heretic  and  infidel  fell  in  with  the  spirit 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  church  now  sanctioned  what  it 
had  endeavored  to  minify  and  control.  The  knight  could 
win  his  way  to  heaven  through  a  path  of  blood. 

A  Religious  Society. — The  preceding  chapter  has  indi- 
cated that  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries  experienced  a 
great  religious  revival  in  the  Cluniac  and  Cistercian  re- 

253 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

forms.  This  religious  awakening  moved  in  two  directions : 
The  church  was  to  become  dominant  on  earth,  and  the  path 
to  heaven  lay  through  a  stern,  ascetic  life.  The  crusades, 
religiously,  were  the  outcome  of  these  monastic  reforms. 
They  expressed  the  passion  for  a  world-conquering  Chris- 
tianity and  they  utilized  the  ascetic  ideal,  in  the  hardships 
borne  by  the  crusaders,  to  reach  the  positive  goal  of  giving 
the  church  a  universal  empire. 

Pilgrimages. — The  religious  quickening  of  the  eleventh 
century  expressed  itself  not  only  in  new  monastic  establish- 
ments for  the  religious  but  also  in  pilgrimages  to  various  sa- 
cred places,  especially  for  the  laity.  Pilgrimages  were  the  ex- 
pression of  at  least  two  religious  ideas :  The  labor  and  sacri- 
fice involved  were  a  form  of  asceticism  and,  therefore,  a 
spiritual  work;  to  pray  in  a  sacred  place  was  the  way  to 
bring  oneself  more  immediately  into  contact  with  the  spirit- 
ual powers.  The  church  fostered  the  desire  for  pilgrimage 
by  imposing  it  as  a  penance.  There  were  many  places  of  pil- 
grimage. Very  slight  objects  made  a  chapel  or  a  shrine  the 
object  of  adoration.  Wilsnach,  in  East  Prussia,  possessed  a 
sacramental  wafer  that  was  declared  to  have  preserved  a 
church  from  being  destroyed  by  fire  and  at  certain  times  to 
exude  the  blood  of  Christ.  The  town  early  became  a  place 
of  pilgrimage.  Pilgrimages  did  not  cease  with  the  crusades 
but  have  continued  to  this  day  both  in  the  Greek  and  Latin 
churches. 

Pilgrimages  to  Jerusalem. — Pilgrimages  to  Jerusalem 
began  in  the  second  century.  By  333  there  were  enough  pil- 
grimages to  the  Holy  Land  to  warrant  the  publication  of  a 
guidebook  to  Palestine.  In  the  first  half  of  the  eleventh 
century  the  impulse  to  journey  to  Jerusalem  seized  vast 
multitudes.  The  movement  began  among  the  humble  but 
spread  to  the  well-to-do,  nobles,  and  kings.  Even  women 
undertook  the  pilgrimage.  In  1064  seven  thousand  pil- 
grims, headed  by  the  archbishop  of  Mainz,  sought  the  sacred 
places  of  th;  Holy  Land.  Pilgrimages  to  Jerusalem  came 
to  be  required  as  a  penance  for  great  sins.  Robert  le 
Liable,  of  Normandy,  who  had  poisoned  his  brother,  was 
promised  remission  of  sins  through  his  undertaking  to  go 

254 


CRUSADING  FOR  THE  KINGDOM 

barefooted  to  Jerusalem.  Cure  of  disease  and  remission  of 
sins  were  the  leading  motives  of  these  journeys.  Peter  the 
Venerable  in  1145  said  that  if  Antioch  fell  to  the  Saracens, 
the  road  to  Jerusalem  would  be  lost  through  which  innu- 
merable thousands  had  escaped  hell  and  gained  heaven. 

Indulgences. — In  connection  with  the  pilgrimages  there 
was  coming  into  vogue  the  substitution  of  some  pious  work 
for  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  penance  prescribed  by  a  priest 
in  the  confessional.  The  fatigues  endured  in  the  pilgrim- 
age entitled  the  penitent  to  some  diminution  of  the  pen- 
ance. Pope  Urban  II,  at  the  Council  of  Clermont  in  1095, 
to  quicken  interest  in  the  crusade  to  the  Holy  Land,  decreed 
that  those  who  took  the  cross  should  be  freed  from  all  pen- 
ance incurred  by  those  who  confessed  their  sins.  This  is 
the  first  example  of  what  is  called  plenary  indulgence. 
This  became  the  established  rule  in  all  crusades.  Bernard 
in  his  preaching  promised  full  pardon  to  all  who  set  out  for 
Palestine.  He  declared  that  God  summoned  men  to  the 
holy  war  that  he  might  thus  bring  them  to  eternal  glory. 
Later  similar  indulgences  were  granted  to  those  who  pro- 
vided substitutes  in  the  wars  against  the  Moslem.  Crusaders 
came  also  to  be  released  from  earthly  as  well  as  heavenly 
justice.  By  taking  the  cross  they  were  removed  from  the 
ranks  of  the  laity  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  secular  courts. 
The  punishment  imposed  by  the  courts  of  the  church  were 
notoriously  lax,  and  many  a  criminal  took  the  cross  to  es- 
cape the  consequences  of  his  ill  deeds.  The  nefarious  prac- 
tices of  later  popes  and  bishops  to  fill  their  coffers  through 
the  sale  of  indulgences  were  a  primary  cause  of  the 
Reformation. 

Other  Causes. — Many  other  causes  played  their  part  in 
this  uprising  of  the  West  against  the  East.  The  popes  were 
anxious  to  extend  their  authority  over  the  Greek  Church 
and  to  suppress  the  Moslem.  The  spirit  of  adventure  ap- 
pealed to  many  knights.  Princes  were  anxious  to  set  up 
states  in  the  East.  ^lany  of  the  oppressed  were  eager  to 
chance  the  winning  of  a  better  fortune.  Genoa  and  Venice 
encouraged  the  crusades  in  order  to  extend  their  shipping 
interests  in  the  East.    The  first  crusade  was  largely  precipi- 

255 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

tated  by  the  appeal  of  Alexius  I,  the  Greek  emperor  at 
Constantinople,  to  the  pope  for  help  to  check  the  Moslem 
advance  in  Asia  Minor. 

Crusades  Against  the  Moslems 

Some  Results  of  the  Crusades. — While  it  is  customary 
to  speak  of  seven  crusades,  it  must  be  remembered  that,  be- 
ginning in  1097,  when  the  armed  division  of  the  first  cru- 
sade crossed  into  Asia  Minor,  and  continuing  two  centuries, 
scarcely  a  year  passed  that  warriors  from  the  West  did  not 
pass  to  the  East  to  battle  with  the  infidel.  These  first  cru- 
sades established  four  Latin  states  in  the  East — Edessa, 
Antioch,  Tripoli,  and  Jerusalem.  The  Latin  kingdom  of 
Jerusalem  was  instituted  in  1100  and  continued  until 
1187.  From  1187  to  1229  the  Christians  were  shut  out  of 
Jerusalem.  In  1229  they  were  granted  pilgrim  rights  in 
the  Holy  City,  but  this  privilege  ceased  in  1244,  when  Jeru- 
salem was  occupied  by  the  Turks. 

Taking  the  Cross. — The  following  extract  taken  from 
The  Deeds  of  God  Wrought  by  the  French,  written  by 
Guilbert  of  Nogent,  who  was  present  at  Clermont  when 
Pope  Urban  preached  the  first  crusade,  indicates  the  spirit 
that  made  the  crusades  possible : 

The  most  excellent  man  [Urban  II]  concluded  his  ora- 
tion and  by  the  power  of  the  blessed  Peter  absolved  all  who 
had  taken  the  vow  to  go  and  by  the  same  apostolic  authority 
confirmed  it;  and  he  instituted  a  sign  of  this  so  honorable 
vow;  and  as  a  badge  of  soldiering  or  knighthood — or,  rather, 
of  being  about  to  soldier  for  God — he  took  the  mark  of  the 
Lord's  passion,  the  figure  of  a  cross,  made  from  material 
of  any  kind  of  cloth  and  ordered  it  to  be  sown  upon  the  tunics 
of  those  about  to  go.  But  if  anyone  after  receiving  this  sign 
or  after  making  open  promise  should  draw  back  from  that 
good  intent  by  base  repenting  or  through  affection  for  his 
kin,  he  ordained  that  he  should  be  held  an  outlaw  utterly 
and  perpetually  unless  he  turned  and  set  himself  again  to  the 
neglected  performance  of  his  pledge.  Furthermore,  with 
terrible  anathema  he  damned  all  who  within  the  term  of 
three  years  should  dare  to  do  ill  to  the  wives,  children,  or 
property  of  those  setting  forth  on  their  journey  of  God.^ 

1  From  The  Medieval  Mind,  by  Taylor,  Volume  II,  page  176,  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  publishers,  The  Macmillan  Company. 

256 


CRUSADING  FOR  THE  KINGDOM 

The  Religious  Zeal. — Geoffroi  de  Villehardouin,  who 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  fourth  crusade,  which,  by 
unforeseen  circumstances,  was  turned  aside  from  Palestine 
to  attack  the  Greek  Empire  at  Constantinople,  has  given  us 
pictures  of  the  religious  zeal  that  inaugurated  and  sustained 
the  call  to  arms : 

Be  it  known  to  you  that  eleven  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
years  after  the  incarnation  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  there 
was  in  France  a  holy  man  named  Fulk  of  Neuilly — which 
Neuilly  is  between  Lagnisur-Marne  and  Paris — and  he  was 
priest  and  held  the  cure  of  the  village.  And  this  said  Fulk 
began  to  speak  of  God  throughout  the  isle  of  France  and 
the  other  countries  round  about;  and  you  must  know  that 
by  him  the  Lord  wrought  many  miracles.  Be  it  known  to 
you  further  that  the  fame  of  this  holy  man  spread,  that  it 
reached  the  pope  of  Rome,  Innocent  III.  The  pope  sent  to 
France  and  ordered  the  right  worthy  man  to  preach  the 
cross  by  his  authority.  Afterward  the  pope  sent  a  cardinal 
of  his,  Master  Peter  of  Capua,  who  himself  had  taken  the 
cross,  to  proclaim  the  indulgence  of  which  I  now  tell  you, 
viz.:  that  all  who  should  take  the  cross  and  serve  in  the  host 
for  one  year  would  be  delivered  from  all  sins  they  had  com- 
mitted and  acknowledged  in  confession.  And  because  this 
indulgence  was  so  great,  the  hearts  of  men  were  much 
moved,  and  many  took  the  cross  for  the  greatness  of  the 
pardon.** 

The  Cruelty  of  Religious  Fervor. — The  crusades  against 
the  Moslems  exhibit  scenes  of  purest  chivalry  on  the  part  of 
both  Saracen  and  Christian;  but  they  are  marred  often 
by  broken  treaties  and  horrible  butcheries  in  the  name  of 
religion.  The  crusaders  usually  acted  on  the  principle  that 
faith  need  not  be  kept  with  an  infidel.  It  is  estimated 
that  seventy  thousand  Moslems  and  Jews,  including  men, 
women,  and  children,  were  killed  or  tortured  to  death 
by  the  victorious  crusaders  in  the  taking  of  Jerusalem. 
When  the  city  was  at  rest  from  slaughter,  the  crusaders 
repaired  to  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher.  Raymond 
of  Agiles,  a  French  priest  and  an  eyewitness,  writes : 

When  the  city  was  taken,  it  was  worth  the  whole  long  labor 
to  witness  the  devotion  of  the  pilgrims  to  the  sepulcher  of 
the    Lord,    how    they    clapped    their    hands,    exulted,    and 

*  Memoirs  of  the  Cruaades,  Everyman's  Library,  page  1  f. 

257 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

sang  a  new  song  unto  the  Lord.  For  their  hearts  presented 
to  God,  victor  and  triumphant,  vows  of  praise  which  they 
were  unable  to  explain.  A  new  day,  new  joy  and  exultation, 
new  and  perpetual  gladness,  the  consummation  of  toil  and 
devotion,  drew  forth  from  all  new  words,  new  songs.  This 
day,  I  say,  glorious  in  every  age  to  come,  turned  all  our 
griefs  and  toils  into  joy  and  exultation." 

Ceusades  Against  the  Christians 

Wars  Instigated  by  the  Popes. — For  several  centuries  the 
Roman  papacy  was  committed  to  the  policy  of  advancing 
its  temporal  interests  and  securing  the  unity  of  the  church 
through  the  authorization  of  religious  wars  against  its 
political  enemies  and  heretics.  For  nearly  two  centuries 
there  was  scarcely  a  year  that  some  part  of  European  Chris- 
tianity was  not  the  object  of  armed  attack  instigated  by  the 
popes  and  the  more  powerful  bishops.  Men  were  constantly 
being  slaughtered  in  the  name  of  Christ,  that  his  gospel 
might  prevail. 

Crusades  Against  Heretics. — The  church  of  the  Middle 
Ages  strove  to  put  down  every  departure  from  the  existent 
practice,  beliefs,  or  authority  of  the  church.  No  means 
were  too  cruel,  no  injustice  too  flagrant,  to  be  used.  The 
first  crusade  against  heretics  was  proclaimed  against  the 
Cathari  of  southern  France  in  1179.  Two  years'  indul- 
gence was  promised  to  all  who  took  up  arms  in  the  holy 
cause;  those  who  fell  were  assured  of  eternal  salvation. 
Beginning  in  1209  there  was  one  long  crusade  against  the 
Albigenses  of  the  County  of  Toulouse,  continuing  for 
twenty  years.  An  indulgence,  the  equivalent  of  the  pro- 
longed and  hazardous  crusade  to  Palestine,  was  granted  for 
forty  days  campaigning  in  Toulouse.  The  result  was  a 
pitifully  impoverished  and  subjected  province  of  France. 
Bosnia  was  laid  waste  in  1234  by  fire  and  sword  by 
crusaders  against  the  Cathari.  The  Stedingers,  a 
peasant  people  of  the  marshes  of  the  Weser,  strug- 
gling against  the  oppressions  of  church  and  state,  were 
cruelly  exterminated  in  1230-34.     A  half  dozen  crusades 

» From  The  Medieval  Mind,  by  Taylor,  Volume  I,  page  536,  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  publishers,  The  Macmillan  Company. 

258 


CRUSADING  FOR  THE  KIXGDOM 

were  launched  against  the  Hussites  of  Bohemia  from  1420 
to  1431.  The  land  was  kept  in  civil  war,  and  slaughter 
and  cruelty  marked  the  church's  efforts  to  restrain  liberty 
of  religious  thought. 

Crusades  to  Increase  Papal  Power. — Crusades  against 
heretics  might  be  justified  by  prevailing  medieval  thought; 
those  launched  to  augment  the  glory  of  the  pope  as  a  tem- 
poral prince  could  have  no  justification.  Such  were  the 
shameful  crusades  of  Innocent  IV  against  Tuscany  and 
Lombardy  in  1253.  Holy-Land  indulgences  were  granted 
to  the  crusaders,  and  possessors  of  stolen  property  were 
absolved  if  the  value  of  the  property  was  devoted  to  the  fur- 
therance of  the  crusade.  Similar  crusades  devastated 
Viterbo  in  1238,  Padua  in  1256,  Naples  in  1266,  Venice  in 
1309,  and  Milan  in  1320.  Other  crusades  were  let  loose 
against  Frederic  II  in  1241,  whom  the  pope  had  deposed 
from  the  Roman  emperorship;  against  Aix-la-Chapelle  in 
1248,  that  William  of  Holland  might  be  properly  coronated 
in  this  city  in  the  stead  of  Frederic  II ;  and  against  Aragon 
in  1284  to  enable  Charles  of  Anjou  to  obtain  the  king- 
dom of  Naples.  All  these  crusades  and  many  more  were 
supported  by  the  most  lavish  indulgences. 

The   Military   Religious   Orders 

The  Crusades  Gave  Birth  to  the  Religious  Military 
Orders. — They  carried  to  its  last  meaning  that  one's  soul 
might  be  saved  in  fighting  the  battles  of  the  cross.  The 
Knights  Templars,  founded  in  1118,  are  the  most  famous 
of  these  military  orders.  Bound  by  the  usual  monastic 
vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience,  they  devoted  them- 
selves to  keeping  the  pilgrim  roads  open  to  Jerusalem. 
The  fame  of  this  order  spread  rapidly  over  Europe  and 
drew  into  it  knights  of  the  noblest  blood.  The  order  was 
favored  by  the  popes,  and  its  wealth  rapidly  increased. 
Towns  and  villages,  churches  and  manors,  in  every  country 
in  Europe  were  given  the  Templars;  and  it  was  undoubt- 
edly due  to  their  wealth  and  their  knights'  constantly 
resorting  to  the  Holy  Land  that  the  crusaders  in  the  East 
held  their  place  so  long  against  the  Moslems.    The  dissolu- 

259 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

tion  of  the  order  is  the  great  crime  of  the  church  of  the 
Middle  Ages. 

Summary:     The  Coming  Kingdom 

Wars  of  God  and  the  System  of  Indulgences.— This  les- 
son is  intended  not  to  present  a  history  of  the  crusades 
but  to  indicate  their  religious  significance.  Many  mingled 
motives  promoted  the  crusades.  But,  above  all,  they  were 
fostered  by  the  papacy  and  accepted  by  the  people  as  wars  of 
God.  The  popes  aimed  at  an  extension  of  their  empire,  and 
the  crusaders  sought  salvation  in  fighting  for  the  cross. 
These  holy  wars  developed  the  system  of  indulgences  to 
such  an  obnoxious  extent  that  the  Reformation  may  be 
regarded  as  the  inevitable  sequence  of  the  crusades. 

Culture,  Civilization,  and  Christianity  Cannot  Be  Prop- 
agated by  War. — Then,  too,  the  crusades  settled,  for  all 
who  peruse  history,  that  culture,  civilization,  and  Chris- 
tianity cannot  be  propagated  by  war.  No  genuine  conver- 
sion to  higher  civilization  can  be  forced  upon  a  people  by 
the  sword.  Unfortunately  men  and  nations  learn  this 
lesson  slowly.  In  the  Great  War  the  old  crusader  spirit 
was  revived.  It  failed  in  Syria  six  and  seven  centuries  ago ; 
it  will  fail  in  China  and  in  Africa  to-day.  Christianity 
can  win  not  by  glittering  bayonet  but  by  the  extended,  open 
hand.  Christianity  is  just  and  righteous  comradeship  or  it 
is  nothing.  The  crusades  mark  the  turning  point  in  the 
departure  from  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Henceforth  all 
Kingdom  movements  will  be  a  return  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

Wars  of  God 

Taking  the  Cross. — The  supreme  motive  of  the  attempts 
to  recover  the  Holy  Sepulcher  was  the  conviction  that  a  war 
against  the  Moslem  was  a  war  of  God.  When  Bernard 
preached  the  second  crusade  in  France  and  Germany  he 
summoned  men  to  purity  of  life  and  loyalty  to  God.  At 
Toulouse,  Basle,  Constance,  Frankfurt,  and  Cologne,  wher- 
ever he  appeared  to  the  vast  audiences  that  listened  to  his 
impassioned  plea,  Bernard  proclaimed  repentance  and  con- 
fession as  conditions  of  joining  the  crusade ;  and  multitudes, 

260 


CEUSADING  FOE  THE  KINGDOM 

living  in  all  manner  of  sin,  held  up  their  quivering  palms  to 
promise  that,  through  confession  and  penance,  they  would 
enter  into  holy  lives.  Every  red  cross  sewn  upon  the  gar- 
ment of  a  crusader  indicated  that  he  had  entered  into  a  new 
life  with  God  and  was  accepted  as  his  warrior  across  the 
sea. 

Crusading  for  God. — Life  ever  rises  to  its  noblest  when 
it  is  solemnly  dedicated  to  battle  for  God.  God's  battles 
never  yet  have  been  fully  fought.  The  crusading  spirit 
cannot  be  lost  out  of  life  without  disaster.  There  are  great 
hindrances  in  the  way  of  Christian  triumph,  which  call  for 
the  purest,  sternest  Christian  knighthood.  Sometimes  these 
battlefields  of  cross  and  crescent  are  in  one's  own  soul. 
Far  too  often  are  Christian  hearts  the  dark  abodes  of  pride, 
greed,  sensuality :  selfishness  in  some  ghoulish  form  that 
blackens  life.  The  foul  fiends  are  not  easily  routed.  In 
the  spirit  of  the  crusader  who  abandons  all  for  the  greater 
glory  of  conquest  across  the  sea  we  must  learn  to  leave 
all  the  old  life  in  order  to  live  in  fullness  the  life  of  Christ. 

Religious  Fervor  and  Inhumanity. — The  crusaders  for 
centuries  demonstrated  that  inhumanity  can  flourish  in  the 
richest  soil  of  religious  feeling.  Such  marriage  of  ideas 
was  impossible  in  the  soul  of  Jesus.  It  must  be  impossible 
in  us,  or  else  our  living  will  not  contribute  much  to  the 
coming  of  the  Kingdom.  Eeligious  fervor  must  be  tested 
by  the  sympathy  and  the  justice  it  prompts.  In  all  our 
crusades  against  the  world's  evils  the  soldiers  of  Christ 
must  show  no  bitterness  of  spirit,  no  inhumanity  toward  the 
foe.  Personal  enmities  disgrace  those  who  fight  the  battles 
of  God.  Nor  must  a  personal  enmity  be  dignified  by  call- 
ing it  a  crusade. 

The  Holy  Sepulcher. — The  crusaders  fought  the  IMoslem 
that  they  might  weep  where  Christ  died  and  rejoice  where 
he  rose  again.  Beneath  all  the  passion  of  that  sinful  age 
there  was  a  desire  for  fellowship  with  their  Eedeemer.  The 
evils  of  the  world  which  summon  us  to  join  God's  hosts  to 
put  them  down  must  not  darken  our  longing  to  live  near 
file  Captain  of  our  salvation.  Eager  to  do  the  work  of 
God,  we  must  not  forget  the  companionship  of  God.    Social 

261 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

service  that  neglects  social  fellowship  with  our  heavenly 
Father  eventually  drains  the  fountain  of  the  noble  impulses 
that  prompted  the  heroic  service. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  How  came  the  church  of  the  crusades  to  think  their  wars 
those  of  God? 

2.  Discuss  the  value  of  asceticism,  relics,  pilgrimages,  in- 
dulgences. 

3.  To  what  extent  was  the  medieval  feeling  that  some  hard 
task  should  be  undertaken  by  the  penitent  correct? 

4.  State  some  of  the  material  results  of  the  crusades. 

5.  What  excuse  can  be  offered  for  the  wanton  slaughter 
of  Moslem  and  Jewish  men,  women,  and  children  by  the  cru- 
saders? 

6.  What  object  had  the  popes  in  instigating  wars  against 
other  Christians? 

7.  What  constituted  a  heretic  in  the  estimation  of  the 
church  authorities? 

8.  Against  what  groups  of  "heretics"  were  crusades  di- 
rected? 

9.  Discuss  the  relationship  of  the  crusades  to  the  origin 
of  religious  military  orders. 

10.  How  far  were  the  ideals  of  these  orders  in  accord  with 
the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ? 

11.  To  what  extent  was  the  Reformation  the  inevitable 
sequence  of  the  crusades? 

12.  Discuss  the  value  of  war  as  a  propagator  of  culture, 
civilization,  and  Christianity. 

Suggested  Readings 

Count  Robert  of  Paris  and  The  Talisman,  Scott. 

Via  Crucis,  Crawford,  a  story  of  the  second  crusade. 

God  Wills  It,  Davis,  a  story  of  the  crusades. 

A  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Walker,  pages  238-45. 

The  Medieval  Mind,  Taylor,  Volume  II,  pages  535-49. 

The  Latin  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages,  Lagarde,  pages  481- 
94. 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  V,  pages 
211-305. 

History  of  Indulgences,  Lea,  Volume  III,  pages  152-62. 


262 


CHAPTEE    XXI 

DAYBEEAK  IN  DIFFEEENT  LANDS 

The  Eeformation  was  not  an  unheralded  break  with 
the  medieval  church.  Parallel  with  the  development  of 
papal  autocracy  and  priestly  corruption  arose  protesting 
voices  against  the  existing  church,  which  in  course  of  time 
were  strong  enough  to  lead  a  revolt  against  the  Eoman 
system.  This  chapter  sets  forth  the  outstanding  features 
of  the  pre-Eeformation  church  and  the  labors  and  influence 
of  certain  forerunners  of  Luther. 

The  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages 

The  Conception  of  the  Church. — The  church,  in  the  days 
of  Wycliffe  and  Huss,  in  the  minds  of  the  populace  con- 
sisted of  the  pope  and  the  cardinals.  For  the  more  thought- 
ful the  church  was  the  visible  organization  of  the  faith- 
ful ruled  by  the  pope  and  his  hierarchy  and  cardinals, 
bishops,  and  priests.  This  papal  kingdom  was  as  well  de- 
fined as  the  realm  of  England,  and  its  ruling  body  was  a 
self-perpetuating  aristocracy.  Wycliffe,  calling  those  her- 
etics who  hold  this  view  of  the  church,  says,  '^These  heretics 
understand  by  the  church  the  pope  of  Eome  and  his  car- 
dinals, and  the  multitude  of  worldly  clerks  (priests)  assent- 
ing to  his  simony  and  worldly  lordship  above  all  kings  and 
emperors  of  this  world."  In  1302  Pope  Boniface  YIII  thus 
stated  his  conception  of  the  church : 

We  are  obliged  to  believe  and  hold  that  there  is  one  holy 
catholic  and  apostolic  church;  outside  of  her  there  is  no 
salvation  or  remission  of  sins.  That  in  her  and  within  her 
power  are  two  swords,  we  are  taught  in  the  Gospels — the 
spiritual  sword  and  the  temporal  sword.  Both  are  in  the 
power  of  the  church:  the  latter  to  be  used  for  the  church,  the 
former  by  the  church:  the  former  by  the  priest,  the  latter  by 
princes  and  kings  but  at  the  nod  and  sufferance  of  the  priest. 

263 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

This  authority,  although  it  be  given  to  man  and  though  it  be 
exercised  by  a  man,  is  not  a  human  but  a  divine  power,  given 
by  divine  word  of  mouth  to  Peter  and  confirmed  to  Peter  and 
to  his  successors  by  Christ  himself.  Furthermore,  that  every 
human  creature  is  subject  to  the  Roman  pontiff — this  we  de- 
clare, say,  define,  and  pronounce  to  be  altogether  necessary  to 
salvation.^ 

The  Worldly  Lives  of  the  Clergy. — The  laity  were  bound 
to  the  church  by  obedience  and  by  observance  of  the  sacra- 
ments. Since  the  theory  of  the  church  held  that  priests 
were  such  by  virtue  of  their  ordination  and  not  by  the 
intellectual  worth  and  moral  purity  of  their  lives,  the  most 
licentious  living  was  compatible  with  the  priestly  office. 

The  Dominican  Friars  in  England  in  the  days  of  Wy- 
cliffe  aroused  by  their  idleness  and  profligacy  the  deepest 
antagonism  among  the  people.  John  Foxe,  in  his  BooJc  of 
Martyrs,  preserves  "The  Ploughman's  Complaint,''  written 
anonymously  about  1360.  The  taking  of  vows  of  celibacy 
by  the  priests  and  their  indulging  in  immorality  were  the 
cause  of  the  severest  accusations  and  denunciation,  espe- 
cially as  they  gave  encouragement  to  the  people  to  follow 
the  example  of  the  priests. 

The  Friars  were  the  object  of  severe  attacks  by  Wy- 
cliffe.  He  charges  them  with  hypocrisy,  pretending  pov- 
erty, and  soliciting  alms  that  ought  to  go  to  the  poor.  Wy- 
cliffe  also  insists  that  the  Friars,  by  their  cheap  pardons, 
are  ruining  the  moral  life  of  the  people : 

Friars  also  be  worse  enemies  and  slayers  of  men's  souls 
than  is  the  cruel  fiend  of  hell  himself.  For  love  of  a  little 
stinking  muck  they  spare  to  reprove  the  cursed  sin  of  the 
people.  For  commonly,  if  there  be  any  cursed  juror,  extor- 
tioner, or  adulterer,  he  will  not  be  shriven  at  his  own  curate 
but  go  to  a  flattering  Friar  that  will  absolve  him  falsely  for  a 
little  money,  by  year,  though  he  be  not  in  will  to  make  resti- 
tution and  leave  his  cursed  sin. 

The  Papal  Schism. — The  refusal  of  Urban  VI,  elected  to 
the  papacy  in  1378,  to  remove  the  papal  court  to  Avignon, 
in  France,  resulted  in  the  election  of  Clement  VII.    The 

1  The  full  text  of  this  bull  ia  given  by  Sohafif  in  A  History  of  the  Christian  Church, 
Volume  V,  2,  page  25f. 

264 


DAYBREAK  IN  DIFFERENT  LANDS 

Western  church,  torn  by  papal  dissension  for  nearly  a  gen- 
eration, was  compelled  to  submit  to  the  indecent  spectacle 
of  two  men  claiming  the  seat  of  Saint  Peter  and  each  un- 
worthy of  his  vicarage  by  the  foulness  of  his  life.  Petrarch, 
who  lived  for  some  time  at  Avignon  and  who  knew  inti- 
mately the  life  of  the  papal  court,  declares  that  the  greatest 
crimes  were  rife  in  the  households  of  the  highest  digni- 
taries of  the  church.  Although  his  testimony  is  trust- 
worthy, it  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  shameful  sordidness 
and  sensuality  of  the  lives  of  those  who  claimed  to  be  the 
representatives  of  Christ. 

The  Council  of  Constance,  1414-15. — At  this  council, 
where  the  writings  of  \Yycliffe  were  condemned,  and  his 
bones  ordered  dug  up  and  burned,  and  where  Huss  was 
burned,  the  evil  lives  of  the  clergy  were  openly  known.  The 
town  council  stocked  the  pope's  cellar  with  sixteen  casks 
of  good  wine.  Tournaments,  dances,  acrobatic  shows,  and 
processions  entertained  the  clerical  visitors.  Seven  hun- 
dred prostitutes  openly  practiced  their  trade  in  rented 
rooms.  It  was  a  common  saying  among  the  Swiss  that  a 
generation  would  not  suffice  to  clean  Constance  from  the 
sins  committed  by  the  council  during  its  session  in  the 
city. 

A  letter  from  Huss  to  his  Bohemian  friends^  thus 
speaks  of  the  council  and  the  forced  resignation  of  Pope 
John  XXIII: 

Consider  that  they  have  judged  their  head,  their  pope, 
worthy  of  death  for  many  horrible  acts  that  he  had  done.  I 
would  that  in  that  Council  God  had  said:  "He  that  amongst 
you  is  without  sin,  let  him  give  the  sentence  against  Pope 
John":  then  surely  they  had  all  gone  out  of  the  council  house 
one  after  another.  Why  did  they  bow  the  knee  to  him  before 
his  fall,  kiss  his  feet,  and  call  him  "The  most  holy  father," 
seeing  they  saw  apparently  before  that  he  was  a  heretic,  that 
he  was  a  man-killer,  that  he  was  a  wicked  sinner,  all  which 
things  now  they  have  found  in  him? 

Huss  is  not  too  severe.  In  deposing  John  XXIII  the 
Council  of  Constance  accused  him  of  incest,  adultery,  de- 

*  Book  of  Martyrs,  Foze. 

265 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  EEFORMEES 

filement,  homicide,  and  atheism,  of  all  of  which  crimes 
the  pope  confessed  himself  guilty.  Yet  Pope  Martin  V 
created  him  Dean  of  the  Sacred  College. 

EORERUNNEES    OF   THE   EeFORMATION 

The  Character  of  the  Revolt. — The  Eeformation  was  a 
political,  intellectual,  and  moral  revolt  from  the  tyranny  of 
the  medieval  church  over  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men.  The 
successors  of  Luther  and  his  colaborers  were  the  greater 
because  other  bold  men  had  made  similar  or  partial  at- 
tempts to  inaugurate  liberty  of  conscience  and  a  supremacy 
of  the  Scriptures  above  the  decisions  of  popes.  Chief 
among  these  heralds  of  the  Eeformation  were  the  Walden- 
sians,  the  Lollards,  and  the  Hussites. 

The  Waldensians 

The  Origin  of  the  Waldensians. — Peter  Waldo,  in  the 

latter  half  of  the  twelfth  century,  a  rich  merchant  of  Lyons, 
eager  to  become  a  true  Christian,  secured  a  copy  of  the 
Scriptures  in  the  French  language  of  his  day.  His  study 
convinced  him  that  nowhere  was  the  Christian  life  that  had 
been  commanded  by  Christ  being  lived.  Selling  his  prop- 
erty and  providing  for  his  family,  he  set  forth  to  preach 
the  gospel  of  the  New  Testament.  Men  listened  to  him  on 
the  streets,  in  the  fields,  and  by  the  roadside.  He  made 
disciples  among  both  men  and  women.  These  he  sent  forth 
as  missionaries,  who,  because  the  clergy  had  ceased  to 
preach,  found  eager  listeners  everywhere. 

The  Persecution  of  Waldo's  Disciples. — These  Poor  Men 
of  Lyons,  as  they  called  themselves,  in  appealing  to  the 
Scriptures  and  in  denouncing  the  sins  of  the  clergy  awak- 
ened the  hostility  of  the  church  authorities.  By  1190  they 
taught  that  Christians  need  not  recognize  the  authority  of 
the  pope;  laymen,  even  women,  may  preach;  God  is  to  be 
obeyed  rather  than  man ;  masses,  prayers,  and  alms  for  the 
dead  avail  nothing ;  prayer  in  bed,  in  a  stable,  or  anywhere 
might  be  substituted  for  prayer  in  church;  everyone  who 
led  an  apostolic  life  was  the  successor  of  the  apostles,  and, 
therefore,  righteous  laymen  could  exercise  all  the  functions 

266 


DAYBREAK  IN"  DIFFERENT  LANDS 

of  the  priesthood.  The  Waldensians  soon  were  regarded  as 
dangerous  heretics  and  became  subjects  for  the  Inquisition. 
Yet  in  spite  of  much  persecution  they  multiplied.  They 
appear  in  Strassburg  in  1212,  in  Cologne  in  1392,  in  north- 
ern Italy  during  the  early  thirteenth  century,  in  Pomer- 
ania  in  1394,  and  in  Bohemia  by  the  middle  of  the  thir- 
teenth century. 

The  Purity  of  Their  Lives. — The  religious  teachings  of 
the  Waldensians  emphasized  the  moral  life.  Their  lives 
were  in  sharpest  contrast  with  the  orthodox  church.  A 
member  of  the  Inquisition  who  knew  them  well  says : 

They  take  no  pride  in  their  garments,  which  are  neither 
costly  nor  vile.  They  do  not  engage  in  trade,  to  avoid  lies 
and  oaths  and  frauds,  but  live  by  their  labor  as  mechanics — 
their  teachers  are  cobblers.  They  do  not  accumulate  wealth 
but  are  content  with  necessaries.  They  are  chaste  and  tem- 
perate in  meat  and  drink.  They  do  not  frequent  taverns  or 
dances  or  other  vanities.  They  restrain  themselves  from 
anger.  They  are  always  at  work:  they  teach  and  learn  and 
consequently  pray  but  little.  They  are  to  be  known  by  their 
modesty  and  precision  of  speech,  avoiding  scurrility  and  de- 
traction and  light  words  and  lies  and  oaths.' 

The  Forerunners  of  Huss  in  Bohemia. — Early  in  the  four- 
teenth century  the  Waldensians  had  a  thoroughly  organ- 
ized church  in  Bohemia.  Various  efforts  were  made  to 
suppress  them,  but  Bohemia,  with  the  establishment  of  its 
university  at  Prague,  was  in  a  tolerant  mood  toward  reli- 
gious thought.  When  the  papal  indulgence  was  preached  in 
Prague  in  1393  and  was  publicly  denounced,  it  seems  likely 
that  this  boldness  was  the  result  of  generations  of  Walden- 
sian  preaching.  Waldensian  missionaries  of  Bohemia 
spread  the  sect  into  Brandenburg,  Moravia,  Austria,  and 
Hungary.  In  1408  Huss  interceded  for  a  Waldensian 
preacher  before  the  Inquisition  in  Prague,  and  one  of  the 
charges  against  Huss  at  Constance  was  that  he  favored  the 
Waldensians.  After  the  death  of  Huss  the  Waldensians  of 
Dauphine  sent  funds  to  the  Hussites,  whom  they  regarded 
as  their  brethren.    Those  of  the  Hussites  who  called  them- 


'  From  History  of  the  Inquisition,  by  Lea,   Volume  I,  page   85,  through   the 
coiirtesy  of  the  publishers,  The  Macmillan  Company. 

267 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

selves  Taborites  conformed  in  most  of  their  positions  to  the 
views  of  the  Waldensians  and,  through  the  bitter  persecu- 
tions that  scattered  them  all,  retained  their  close  fra- 
ternalism. 

John  Wycliffe 

The  Life  and  Labors  of  Wycliffe.— John  Wycliffe  (1320- 
84)  was  the  foremost  of  pre-Reforniation  leaders.  Little  is 
known  of  his  early  life.  He  was  at  Oxford  University  be- 
tween the  years  of  1356  and  1360,  at  which  latter  date  he 
was  elected  Master  of  Balliol  College.  In  1372  he  ob- 
tained the  degree  of  doctor  of  divinity  and  became  a  lec- 
turer at  Oxford.  "He  was,"  writes  John  Foxe,  "a  famous 
divine,  a  deep  schoolman,  and  expert  in  all  kinds  of  philos- 
ophy." He  was  given  the  rectory  of  Lutterworth  in  1374; 
and  from  here,  in  1378,  Wycliffe  began  sending  forth  his 
"poor  priests,"  known  as  the  Lollards  after  his  death,  to 
preach,  after  the  manner  of  Wesley's  itinerants,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people.  Wycliffe  wrote  many  tracts  and  ser- 
mons in  English;  and  these,  with  the  Bible,  a  translation 
of  which  he  put  into  the  hands  of  his  followers,  became  a 
powerful  influence  in  the  reformation  of  the  manners  of  his 
countrymen. 

The  Teaching  of  Wycliffe. — Wycliffe  began  his  career  as 
a  reformer  in  1366  by  asserting,  in  reply  to  a  request  from 
the  king,  that  "England  is  not  bound  to  pay  tribute  to  the 
pope."  His  argument  was  that  the  kingdom's  first  duty  is 
self-preservation ;  and  that  to  send  moneys  across  the  sea  to 
a  foreign  prince  weakens  the  state  of  England.  Secondly, 
he  argued  that  a  pope  has  no  claim  upon  the  wealth  of 
England  except  as  alms  to  be  used  in  works  of  mercy.  But 
since  all  church  property  can  be  used  for  charity  in  Eng- 
land, there  is  neither  need  nor  sense  to  send  ecclesiastical 
donations  out  of  the  realm.  In  1378,  impelled  by  the 
abuses  of  the  church  and  stirred  by  the  papal  schism,  he 
attacked  the  foundations  of  the  papacy.  Popes  are  Anti- 
christ. Their  evil  lives,  revealed  in  greed,  lust,  cruelty, 
and  autocratic  power,  release  all  Christians  from  obedience. 
Papal  excommunications  fall  harmless  upon  true  Chris- 

268 


DAYBREAK  IN  DIFFERENT  LANDS 

tians.  There  is  no  Scriptural  authority  for  any  portion  of 
the  great  papal  scheme  of  empire.  The  holding  of  prop- 
erty has  degraded  the  church;  therefore,  it  should  pass 
into  the  hands  of  the  state.  The  clergy  should  be  poor, 
not  rich;  industrious,  not  idle;  pure  in  life,  not  an  evil 
example  to  their  people.  They  should  preach  the  gospel, 
teach  the  people,  and  place  the  Scriptures  in  their  hands. 
During  the  latter  years  of  his  life  Wy cliff e  attacked  the 
many  abuses  which  the  church  had  instituted  to  maintain 
its  authority:  worship  of  relics,  pilgrimages,  indulgences, 
auricular  confession,  invocation  of  saints,  celibacy  of  the 
clergy,  and  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation. 

The  Influence  of  Wycliffe. — Persecution  gradually 
crushed  the  Lollards,  as  the  followers  of  Wycliffe  were 
called,  but  they  were  never  extinguished.  There  was  an 
unbroken  succession  of  his  disciples  until  they  won  their 
freedom  at  the  Reformation,  and  both  George  Fox  and  John 
Wesley  may  be  regarded  as  their  spiritual  heirs.  There 
came  to  light  in  1530  some  tracts  that  sum  up  the  popular 
message  of  the  Lollards.  The  following  sentences  are 
typical : 

There  is  no  work  better  than  another  to  please  God:  to 
wash  dishes  and  to  preach  is  all  one  as  touching  the  deed  to 
please  God. 

Every  man  is  a  priest,  and  we  need  no  other  priest  to  be 
a  mediator. 

He  that  is  rich  may  not  use  or  spend  his  goods  as  he  will; 
thy  goods  belong  as  well  unto  the  poor  as  to  thee. 

A  man  shall  be  reproved  for  no  other  thing  at  the  Day  of 
Judgment  but  for  forgetting  the  poor. 

Men  of  war  are  not  allowed  by  the  gospel:  the  gospel 
knoweth  peace  and  not  war.* 

John  Huss 

His  Life. — The  early  years  of  John  Huss  resemble  in 
some  particulars  the  boyhood  of  ^lartin  Luther.  His  par- 
ents were  poor,  his  early  years  were  spent  in  privation,  and 
he  earned  his  living  by  menial  services  and  singing  in 


*  From  Studies  in  Mystical  Religion,  by  Jones,  page  364,  through  the  courtesy  of 
the  publishers,  The  Macmillan  Company. 

269 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

churches.  His  higher  studies  were  pursued  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Prague,  from  which  he  was  graduated  a  bache- 
lor of  arts  in  1393  and  a  master  of  arts  in  1396.  He  be- 
came a  lecturer  at  the  university  in  1398.  In  1401  he  was 
made  dean  of  the  faculty  of  philosophy  and  was  elected 
rector  of  the  university  in  1403.  He  was  ordained  priest 
in  1400  and  in  1402  became  preacher  of  the  Betlilehem 
chapel  in  Prague.  He  was  soon  the  most  forceful  and  in- 
fluential preacher  of  the  capital.  His  career  as  a  reformer 
developed  rapidly.  He  gradually  alienated  the  majority  of 
his  teachers  but  kept  his  hold  upon  the  commoners  and 
large  numbers  of  the  nobles.  Compelled  by  an  interdict 
laid  upon  Prague  by  the  pope  to  withdraw  temporarily  from 
the  city,  he  sent  forth  numerous  tracts  in  Latin  and  in 
the  Bohemian  tongue  and  composed  his  chief  work,  TJie 
Church.  Under  the  promise  of  safety  from  the  emperor 
Sigismund  he  attended  the  Council  of  Constance,  where  his 
books  were  condemned,  and  he  himself  refusing  to  recant, 
was  burned  at  the  stake  in  1415.  Huss,  it  seems,  never 
regarded  himself  as  a  heretic  but  held  that  even  by  the 
medieval  standard  he  was  a  good  Catholic. 

The  Teaching  of  Huss. — ^There  was  close  sympathy  be- 
tween the  universities  of  Oxford  and  Prague.  The  writings 
of  Wy cliff e  were  brought  to  Prague  and  became  the  subject 
of  lectures  at  the  Bohemian  university.  The  philosophical 
writings  of  Wycliffe  first  attracted  the  attention  of  Huss. 
Gradually  he  was  led  to  adopt  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Eng- 
lish reformer's  views,  which  he  proclaimed  with  great  fidel- 
ity unto  his  death.  With  the  exception  of  Wycliffe's  denial 
of  transubstantiation,  which  view  of  the  Eucharist  Huss 
seems  never  to  have  held,  he  appears  to  have  followed  the 
teaching  of  Wycliffe  summarized  above. 

The  Influence  of  Huss. — Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of 
the  church  to  crush  Hussitism  in  Bohemia  and  the  evils 
arising  from  the  formation  of  sects  among  the  reformers, 
as  late  as  1600  nine  tenths  of  Bohemia  and  the  German 
provinces  of  Austria  were  Protestant.  But  during  the  sev- 
enteenth century  they  were  practically  crushed  under  the 
severest  persecution.     The  writings  of  Huss  greatly  influ- 

270 


DAYBREAK  IN  DIFFERENT  LANDS 

enced  the  thinking  of  Luther.  Some  Hussites  sent  Luther 
the  writings  of  Huss.  After  examining  them  he  wrote: 
"I  have  hitherto  taught  and  held  all  the  opinions  of  John 
Huss  unawares;  so  did  John  Staupitz;  in  short,  we  are  all 
Hussites  without  knowing  it.  Paul  and  Augustine  are 
Hussites  to  a  word."^ 

Summary:     The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  Awakening. — The  church  of  the  Middle  Ages  jour- 
neyed far  from  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  but  even  during 
its  sojourn  in  the  prodigaPs  land  there  were  yearning  sons 
who  saw  the  Father's  house  across  the  rough  hills  of  the 
church's  worldly  life.  These  heralds  of  dawn  were  more 
numerous  than  the  worldliness  of  the  church  might  lead  us 
to  suppose,  but  the  ones  studied  in  this  lesson  are  typical 
of  all.  It  was  the  immorality  of  the  clergy  and  the  dead- 
ening autocracy  of  the  spiritual  rulers  which  finally  aroused 
men's  souls. 

A  New  Recognition  of  the  Inner  Life. — Since  the  papacy 
claimed  apostolic  origin  for  its  government,  these  ques- 
tioners naturally  betook  themselves  to  the  records  of  the 
apostolic  age.  Here  in  the  Scriptures  they  found  a  Chris- 
tianity utterly  at  variance  with  that  prevalent  in  their 
day.  The  Christianity  of  the  Gospels  fitted  in  with  their 
needs,  and  by  it  they  sought  to  live  and  to  justify  their 
criticisms  of  the  existent  ecclesiastical  system.  But  the 
reforms  studied  in  this  chapter  were  more  than  a  return  to 
the  Scriptures :  they  were  a  new  recognition  of  the  reality 
and  validity  of  the  inner  life.  It  was  a  new  consciousness 
that  Christ  dwelt,  not  primarily  in  the  offices  and  sacra- 
ments of  the  church,  but  in  the  souls  of  his  faithful  dis- 
ciples. Men  were  discovering  anew  that  God  desired  to 
dwell  in  tho  life  of  his  children.  Their  return  to  the 
Scriptures  was  not  merely  a  return  to  the  past:  it  was 
a  return  to  the  ever-living  present  of  God's  fellowship  with 
those  who  seek  him  with  purity  and  righteousness  of  life. 

A  New  Interest  in  Humanity. — This  new  revival  of  true 

»  Letter  to  Spalatin,  1520. 

271 


APOSTLES,  FATHEKS,  AND  EEFORMEES 

religion  led  them,  as  always,  to  a  new  interest  in  humanity. 
Waldensians,  Lollards,  and  Hussites  were  all  social  re- 
formers in  a  humble  way.  They  were  deeply  interested  in 
the  physical  welfare  of  humble  folks.  One  reason  that 
their  movement  failed  was  the  appalling  indiiference  of  the 
rich  and  powerful  to  the  welfare  of  the  peasant  and  common 
toiler.  The  genuineness  of  these  reformers  is  seen  in  their 
social  vision,  in  their  sacrifices  for  the  weak,  in  their  de- 
nunciations of  injustice  and  inhumanity. 

The  Reason  They  Failed. — These  reformers  failed  be- 
cause the  old  interests  of  church  and  state  were  yet  too 
firmly  intrenched  in  the  seats  of  power.  The  reforms 
lacked  the  firm  leadership  of  princes  who  felt  that  the 
church  was  inimical  to  their  interests.  This  political  sup- 
port Luther  was  able  to  command.  The  Reformation,  when 
it  came,  largely  depended  on  ambitious  political  rulers  who 
were  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  the  rising  tide  of  religious 
antagonism  to  the  church. 

The  Triumph  of  Truth 

Loyalty  to  Truth,  Not  Bigotry. — "Whenever  I  perceive 
a  sounder  reason  than  the  one  I  was  moved  by  I  ever  gladly 
and  humbly  recede  from  my  former  position.^^  So  Huss 
lived.  The  Council  of  Constance  thought  him  obstinate 
and  bigoted.  He  possessed  the  one  open  mind  among  them 
all.  Truth  is  always  determined.  The  man  who  knows, 
knows ;  who  feels  sincerely  feels  powerfully.  But  he  is  far 
more  loyal  to  the  passion  for  truth  than  to  any  given 
truth.  For  he  knows  that  truth  is  no  static  unit.  The 
man  who  continues  to  think  ever  will  find  himself  carrying 
coffins  of  things  he  once  thought  were  true  to  an  intellectual 
graveyard. 

The  Test  of  Truth. — Physical  power  and  multiplied 
wealth  are  not  complete  tests  of  truth.  The  medieval 
church  was  not  true,  yet  it  swayed  autocratically  the  inner 
life  and  outward  fortunes  of  men.  A  strong  nation  is  not 
necessarily  the  exponent  of  the  highest  civilization.  Great 
wealth  is  not  an  absolute  credential  of  great  honesty.  The 
test  of  truth  is  the  richness  it  brings  to  the  inner  life.    The 

272 


DAYBREAK  IN  DIFFERENT  LANDS 

quickening  sympathy,  the  developing  sense  of  justice,  the 
increasing  longing  for  purity  of  heart,  the  breaking  down 
of  prejudice,  the  enriching  of  thought,  the  hunger  for 
God :  these  are  the  assurances  that  men  are  following  the 
heavenly  monitor.  Truth  is  revealed  also  in  every  rising 
up  of  humanness  in  the  heart.  To  discover  that  we  are 
not  isolated  beings  traveling  solitary  and  walled-in  high- 
ways to  the  grave  but  individuals  in  the  midst  of  innumer- 
able fellows  like  ourselves,  who  advance  by  mutual  help, 
making  our  uncertain  and  daring  way  through  the  years  to 
the  paradise  of  God — this  is  to  have  wedded  truth  and 
known  the  glory  of  her  beauty  in  the  soul. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  conception  of  the  church  was  held  by  the  common 
people  of  the  Middle  Ages?  by  thoughtful  people? 

2.  What  gave  a  priest  his  standing? 

3.  Discuss  Wycliffe's  charges  against  the  friars. 

4.  What  caused  the  papal  schism  of  1378? 

5.  State  the  practical  significance  of  the  Council  of  Con- 
stance. 

6.  Discuss  the  Waldensians.  What  caused  their  persecu- 
tion? 

7.  In  what  way  did  the  teachings  of  Wycliffe  influence  his 
own  and  succeeding  generations? 

8.  To  what  extent  was  intellectual  training  a  factor  in  the 
work  of  Huss? 

9.  Illustrate  the  new  interest  in  humanity  manifested  by 
the  Waldensians,  the  Lollards,  and  the  Hussites. 

10.  Why  did  the  forerunners  of  the  Reformation  fail? 

Suggested  Readings 

The  Green  Devil,  Metcalf,  a  story  of  the  times  of  Wycliffe. 

The  Three  Religious  Leaders  of  Oxford,  Cadman,  pages 
5-170. 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  V,  Part  II, 
pages  302-99. 

A  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Walker,  pages  292-306. 

Studies  in  Mystical  Religion,  Jones,  pages  130-49;  333-68. 

England  in  the  Age  of  Wycliffe,  Trevelyan. 


273 


CHAPTER  XXII 

LUTHER  AND  THE  GERMAN  REFORMATION 

After  all  the  lines  of  development  through  the  Middle 
Ages  have  been  traced,  after  all  the  labors  of  the  fore- 
runners of  Luther  have  been  duly  appreciated,  after  all  the 
political  and  economical  movements  that  gave  the  oppor- 
tunity for  the  vision  and  the  passion  of  the  German  re- 
former to  succeed,  are  clearly  appreciated,  there  yet  re- 
mains to  be  understood  that  God  raised  up  in  Martin 
Luther  a  man  who  shook  the  world,  and  that  the  Reforma- 
tion marks  a  crisis  and  a  new  beginning  of  the  world's 
history. 

From  Huss  to  Luther 

The  State  of  the  Church. — The  Council  of  Constance  in 
1415  asserted  the  superiority  of  a  general  council  of  the 
church  over  the  papacy  and  arranged  for  a  series  of  councils 
to  check  the  papal  pretensions  and  abuses.  The  Council  of 
Basel  in  1431-43  attempted  some  reforms,  but  the  power 
of  the  papacy  reasserted  itself,  and  in  1459  Pope  Pius  II 
punished  as  heretics  those  who  were  injudicious  enough  to 
call  for  a  general  council.  The  character  of  the  popes  was 
unchanged.  The  deepest  crimes  were  perpetrated  by  the 
occupants  of  the  seat  of  Saint  Peter.  Popes  openly  ac- 
knowledged their  children  and  advanced  them  to  the  high- 
est positions  in  the  church.  Licentiousness,  treachery, 
simony,  war,  and  murder  befouled  the  papacy  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  century  that  separated  Huss  and  Luther. 

The  Political  Conditions. — The  intrigues  and  the  wars 
of  the  popes  to  strengthen  themselves  as  temporal  princes 
emboldened  secular  princes  to  withstand  their  exactions. 
German  princes  assembled  in  a  diet  at  Frankfort  in  1456 
denied  the  right  of  the  pope  to  demand  a  tithe  of  the 
church  benefices  to  finance  a  crusade  against  the  Turks. 

274 


LUTHER  AND  THE  REFORMATION 

In  1501  the  German  states  sought  to  prevent  moneys  raised 
by  papal  indulgences  being  sent  to  Rome.  During  these 
years  there  was  a  constant  increase  of  formulated  com- 
plaints on  the  part  of  German  princes  against  the  Roman 
see.  States  were  becoming  aware  of  national  rights  and 
national  ambitions.  It  was  this  new  spirit,  constantly 
growing  stronger,  which  failed  Wycliffe  and  Huss  but 
which  stood  back  of  Luther  to  give  opportunity  and  force 
to  his  demands  for  reform. 

The  New  Learning. — Between  1450  and  1500  a  series 
of  events  had  taken  place  which  did  much  to  emancipate 
human  thought  from  the  old  slavery  to  the  schoolmen  and 
the  papal  authority.  The  capture  of  Constantinople  by  the 
Turks  in  1453  drove  to  Italy  many  Greek  scholars,  whose 
presence  awakened  a  new  interest  in  the  classical  studies 
of  antiquity.  During  the  second  half  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury printing  became  common.  Fully  a  hundred  thousand 
copies  of  the  Bible  were  in  circulation  in  Germany  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Reformation.  Columbus  and  many  of  his 
imitators  had  made  their  voyages.  Nine  great  German 
universities  were  founded  between  1456  and  1506.  Ele- 
mentary schools  were  established  everywhere.  All  these 
changes  accustomed  men  to  new  ideas.  Novelty  of  thought 
no  longer  aroused  suspicion  and  antagonism. 

The  Rise  of  the  Common  Man. — Medieval  society  recog- 
nized three  classes  of  persons:  the  clergy,  the  nobles,  and 
the  peasants.  Changes,  due  to  many  causes,  were  taking 
place  in  the  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  stimu- 
lating of  the  mind  awakened  the  desire  for  physical  com- 
forts. Commerce  took  on  new  proportions.  Cities  began 
to  flourish  with  manufacture  and  trade.  Wealth  began  to 
multiply,  not  in  the  hands  always  of  the  nobles  but  in  the 
possession  of  burghers,  or  citizens.  Money  began  to  talk. 
Free  cities  sprang  up  everywhere,  became  virtually  little 
republics,  and  offered  the  enterprising  peasants  the  chance 
to  escape  economic  servitude.  The  merchants  began  to  be 
the  real  power  of  Europe.  Prices  of  commodities  rose  and 
wrought  hardship  upon  the  humble  laborer.  The  poorer 
nobles,  also  suffering  from  the  new  economic  order,  began 

275 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

to  oppress  the  peasant  farmers.  Rents  were  increased,  and 
ancient  privileges  curtailed.  These  harsh  conditions 
aroused  the  peasantry  of  Germany  to  assert  their  human 
rights.  A  new  sense  of  the^  rights  of  man  was  quickened 
among  them.  They  were  ready  for  armed  efforts  to  secure 
a  better  footing  in  society. 

The  Reformation  in  Geemany 

The  Attack  on  Indulgences. — The  match  that  set  the 
Reformation  on  fire  in  Germany  was  the  sale  of  indul- 
gences. In  1610  Pope  Julius  II  proclaimed  a  plenary 
indulgence  to  secure  funds  to  build  the  great  church  of 
Saint  Peter's  in  Rome.  This  indulgence  was  not  placed 
on  sale  in  Germany  until  1515,  when  Albert,  archbishop  of 
Mainz,  was  authorized  to  market  the  papal  forgiveness  and 
at  the  same  time  reimburse  himself  for  the  twenty  thou- 
sand gulden  he  had  paid  the  pope  for  his  office. 

(a)  The  preaching  of  Tetzel. — The  actual  conduct  of  the 
traffic  was  in  charge  of  John  Tetzel,  a  Dominican  friar  who 
was  experienced  in  such  affairs.  Tetzel  not  only  preached 
the  indulgence  but  drew  up  outlines  of  sermons  for  his 
subordinates.  The  people  were  told  that  every  mortal  sin 
(pride,  covetousness,  lust,  anger,  gluttony,  envy,  etc.)  was  pe- 
nalized by  seven  years  of  penance  either  on  earth  or  in  pur- 
gatory ;  that  the  indulgences  relieved  their  purchasers  from 
these  pains;  that  friends  and  relatives  should  purchase  the 
release  of  their  dead  kindred  from  purgatory;  that  the  liv- 
ing should  have  in  hand  a  plenary  indulgence  for  them- 
selves to  be  used  at  the  last  hour  to  ticket  their  sinful  lives 
safely  through  to  Paradise. 

(h)  The  protest  of  Luther. — Martin  Luther,  at  the  time 
a  professor  in  the  University  of  Wittenberg,  was  aroused  by 
the  coarse  manner  in  which  the  indulgence  mongers 
preached  and  by  the  false  conception  of  indulgences  which 
the  people  obtained  from  such  preaching.  October  31, 
1517,  Luther  attached  to  the  wooden  door  of  the  castle 
church  of  Wittenberg  his  famous  ninety-five  theses,  which 
attacked  in  a  moderate  way  the  system  of  indulgences.  The 
following  are  the  more  revolutionary  of  these  theses : 

276 


LUTHER  AND  THE  REFORMATION 

Those  preachers  of  indulgences  are  in  error  who  say  that 
by  the  pope's  indulgences  a  man  is  freed  from  every  penalty 
and  saved. 

They  will  be  condemned  eternally,  together  with  their 
teachers,  who  believe  themselves  sure  of  their  salvation  be- 
cause  they  have   letters  of  pardon. 

Every  true  Christian,  whether  living  or  dead,  has  part 
in  all  the  blessings  of  Christ  and  in  the  church:  this  is 
granted  him  by  God  even  without  letters  of  pardon. 

Why  does  not  the  pope  empty  purgatory  for  the  sake  of 
holy  love  and  of  dire  need  of  the  souls  that  are  there  if  he 
redeems  an  infinite  number  of  souls  for  the  sake  of  miserable 
money  with  which  to  build  a  church?  The  former  reasons 
would  be  most  just:  the  latter  is  most  trivial. 

The  sympathy  of  Luther  for  the  peasantry  of  Germany  ap- 
pears in  theses  41-46.    The  following  is  characteristic : 

Christians  are  to  be  taught  that  he  who  sees  a  man  in  need 
and  passes  him  by  and  gives  his  money  for  pardons  pur- 
chases not  the  indulgences  of  the  pope  but  the  indignation  of 
God. 

These  theses  did  not  seriously  attack  the  papacy  but  they 
expressed  the  German  feeling  that  a  limit  should  be  placed 
upon  the  papal  greed.  The  theses  were  printed  and  pub- 
lished widely.  Germans  everywhere  began  to  turn  to 
Luther  as  the  champion  of  church  reform. 

The  Breach  With  Rome. — The  controversy  aroused  by 
the  publication  of  the  theses  stimulated  Luther's  study  and 
opened  his  mind  to  realize  that  true  religion  involved  a 
permanent  break  with  the  Roman  Church.  In  1520  he  is- 
sued three  great  pamphlets,  with  the  publication  of  which 
the  German  Reformation  was  in  full  swing: 

(a)  ''An  Open  Letter  to  the  Christian  Nobility  of  the 
German  Nation/' — This  booklet,  more  than  any  other  sin- 
gle writing  of  these  troubled  years,  sets  forth  the  mingled 
motives  that  led  the  German  people  to  espouse  the  Pro- 
testant cause.  The  following  paragraphs  indicate  both 
the  abuses  and  the  reforms  which  thinking  Germans  felt 
most  keenly : 

The  Christian  nobility  should  set  itself  against  the  pope  as 
against  a  common  enemy  and  destroyer  of  Christendom  and 
should  do  this  for  the  salvation  of  the  poor  souls  who  must 

277 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

go  to  ruin  for  his  tyranny.  They  should  ordain,  order,  and 
decree  that  henceforth  no  benefice  shall  be  drawn  into  the 
hands  of  Rome.  .  .  .  An  imperial  law  should  be  issued  that 
no  bishop's  cloak  and  no  confirmation  of  any  dignity  whatso- 
ever shall  henceforth  be  secured  from  Rome. 

Pilgrimages  to  Rome  should  be  abolished.  To  restore  a 
true  understanding  of  good  works  all  pilgrimages  should 
be  given  up;  for  there  is  in  them  nothing  good  but,  on  the 
contrary,   numberless   occasions   for   sin. 

Monasteries  should  no  more  be  builded.  Would  to  God 
they  were  all  done  away,  or  at  least  given  over  to  two  or 
three  orders!  Wandering  about  the  land  never  has  brought 
any  good  and  never  will  bring  any  good.  It  is  much  more 
important  to  consider  what  the  common  people  need  for  their 
salvation  than  what  Saint  Francis,  Saint  Dominic,  or  Saint 
Augustine  has  decreed. 

Marriage  of  clergy. — I  advise  that  henceforth  neither  at  his 
consecration  to  the  priesthood  nor  at  any  other  time  shall 
anyone  under  any  circumstances  promise  the  bishop  to  live 
in  celibacy  but  shall  declare  to  the  bishop  that  he  has  no 
authority  to  demand  such  a  vow,  and  that  to  demand  it  is  the 
devil's  own  tyranny. 

Canon  law. — We  could  never  discover  the  whole  arbitrary 
will  of  the  pope,  which  has  now  become  the  canon  law.  The 
whole  canon  law  from  the  first  letter  to  the  last  should  be 
blotted  out.  The  canon  law  has  risen  in  the  devil's  name.  The 
Bible  contains  more  than  enough  directions  for  our  daily  liv- 
ing, and  so  the  study  of  the  canon  law  only  stands  in  the 
way  of  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Economic-social  reforms. — The  greatest  misfortune  of  the 
German  nation  is  the  traffic  in  annuities.  It  has  not  existed 
much  over  a  hundred  years  and  yet  has  already  brought 
almost  all  princes,  cities,  endowed  institutions,  nobles,  and 
their  heirs  to  poverty,  misery,  and  ruin.  We  must  put  a  bit 
in  the  mouth  of  the  Fuggers  [a  leading  banking  and  com- 
mercial company]  and  similar  corporations.  How  is  it  pos- 
sible that  in  the  lifetime  of  a  single  man  such  great  possess- 
sions,  worthy  of  a  king,  can  be  piled  up,  and  yet  everything 
be  done  legally  and  according  to  God's  will? 

(h)  "The  Babylonian  Captivity.'* — This  pamphlet,  pub- 
lished in  1520,  marks  Luther's  final  and  irreparable  break 
with  Rome.  In  it  the  reformatory  thinking  of  Luther  in 
the  realm  of  theology  reaches  its  culmination.  Luther  here 
discards  the  seven  sacraments  of  the  Roman  Church  and 
retains  but  two — baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper. 

(i)  The  Lord's  Supper. — Luther  teaches  that  both  the 
278 


LUTHER  AND  THE  REFORMATION 

eucharistic  elements,  bread  and  wine,  are  to  be  offered  to  all. 
He  denied  the  Roman  doctrine  of  transubstantiation :  real 
bread  and  real  wine  remain  after  the  elements  are  conse- 
crated ;  but  Christ's  body  and  blood  are  there  too  after  the 
consecration.  Their  presence  cannot  be  detected  by  the 
senses  or  justified  by  reason ;  but  since  Christ  asserted  that 
the  bread  was  his  body,  and  the  cup  his  blood,  this  real  pres- 
ence of  Christ,  along  with  the  real  bread  and  real  wine, 
is  to  be  held  by  faith.  The  mass,  declared  Luther,  is  not 
a  sacrifice.  The  mass  is  the  promise  of  Christ  that  sins 
shall  be  foregiven.  The  mass  received  by  faith  vitalizes  this 
promise  of  Christ.  "The  whole  power  of  the  mass  consists 
in  the  words  of  Christ,  in  which  he  testifies  that  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  is  bestowed  on  all  those  who  believe  that  his 
body  is  given  and  his  blood  shed  for  them.'' 

(2)  Baptism. — The  gist  of  Luther's  position  is  his  effort 
to  restore  baptism  to  its  apostolic  significance.  "The  sacra- 
ments," he  says,  "are  not  fulfilled  when  they  are  observed 
but  when  they  are  believed."  The  act  of  baptism  means 
nothing  unless  it  "signifies  your  dying  and  living  again." 
"Never  does  baptism  lose  its  power  unless  you  despair  and 
refuse  to  return  to  its  salvation.  You  may,  indeed,  for  a 
season  wander  from  the  sign,  but  that  does  not  make  the 
sign  of  none  effect.  You  have  thus  been  baptized  once  in 
the  sacrament  but  you  must  be  constantly  baptized  again 
through  faith,  you  must  constantly  die,  you  must  con- 
stantly live  again."  For  Luther  faith  in  the  dying  and 
risen  Lord  and  the  act  of  the  Christian  dying  to  sin  and 
rising  again  to  holiness  of  life  constitute  the  essence  of  this 
sacrament.  Thus,  Luther  swept  away  the  Catholic  system 
of  penance,  quickened  faith  in  the  sacrament  of  baptism, 
and  encouraged  renewed  efforts  to  overcome  sin  by  faith 
in  Christ.  Luther,  while  stating  that  the  form  of  the  rite 
is  not  essential,  prefers  immersion.  Immersion,  he  says, 
brings  out  the  full  significance  of  baptism  as  the  "symbol 
of  death  and  resurrection."  Luther  holds  to  infant  bap- 
tism. The  saving  faith,  which  the  sacrament  presupposes, 
is  furnished  by  those  who  bring  the  children  to  baptism. 

(c)  ''A  Treatise  on  Christian  Liberty." — Such  is  the  title 
279 


APOSTLES,  FATHEKS,  AND  REFOEMERS 

of  the  third  of  Luther's  writings  in  1520  which  established 
the  standards  of  German  Reformation  thoughts.  In  his 
treatise  the  essence  of  Luther's  religious  teaching  is  found. 
Luther  said  of  this  book,  "Unless  I  am  deceived,  it  is  the 
whole  of  Christian  living  in  a  brief  form."  Luther  here 
expounds  his  fundamental  conviction  of  salvation:  Men 
are  justified  before  God  by  faith,  and  faith  alone; 

The  soul  can  do  without  all  things  except  the  word  of  God. 
The  word  of  God  cannot  be  received  and  cherished  by  any 
works  whatever  but  only  by  faith.  Faith  works  truth  and 
righteousness  if  we  believe.  Faith  unites  the  soul  with 
Christ.  It  is  now  impossible  that  sins  should  destroy  the 
soul,  since  they  are  laid  upon  Christ  and  swallowed  up  in 
him.  Hence,  we  are  all  priests  and  kings  in  Christ.  Every 
Christian  is  by  faith  so  exalted  above  all  things  that  by  a 
spiritual  power  he  is  lord  of  all  things  without  exception. 
In  all  things  I  can  find  no  profit  unto  salvation,  so  that  the 
cross  and  death  itself  are  compelled  to  serve  me  and  to  work 
together  with  me  for  my  salvation.  We  are  also  priests  for- 
ever: we  are  worthy  to  appear  before  God  to  pray  for  others 
and  to  teach  one  another  the  things  of  God. 

The  Fire  at  Wittenberg. — Luther  was  excommunicated 
in  1520  while  these  tracts  were  being  written.  In  some 
places,  in  response  to  the  papal  bull  of  excommunication, 
his  books  were  burned.  Luther  retaliated  by  burning  the 
books  of  canon  law,  the  decretals,  and  the  papal  bull  that 
had  excommunicated  him.  The  spectacular  and  heroic 
scene  was  enacted  in  the  presence  of  a  multitude  near  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Cross  outside  the  walls  of  Wittenberg. 
Luther  in  this  daring  fashion  placed  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  German  Reformation.  Single-handed,  he  defied  the 
powers  that  had  ignominiously  scattered  the  bones  of  Wy- 
cliffe,  burned  Huss,  hanged  Savonarola,  and  for  centuries 
had  crushed  those  who  dared  to  question  the  authority  of 
the  Roman  see. 

The  Diet  at  Worms. — The  writings  of  Luther,  the  papal 
excommunication,  and  the  reformer's  bold  defiance  of  papal 
authority  compelled  the  German  Imperial  Diet  to  take 
action.  Luther,  under  safe  conduct  of  the  emperor,  was 
called  to  Worms  in  1521.     He  obeyed  the  imperial  sum- 

280 


LUTHEE  AND  THE  REFOEMATION 

mons  although  he  had  before  him  the  fate  of  Huss.  Every- 
where on  the  journey  he  was  treated  with  honor.  When,  in 
the  presence  of  the  diet,  the  papal  representatives  de- 
manded that  he  should  retract  his  writings,  he  said  that 
his  writings  were  of  three  classes;  (1)  Those  written  for 
the  edification  of  believers,  which  even  his  adversaries  ad- 
mitted to  be  harmless  and  even  useful :  he  could  not  retract 
these.  (2)  In  a  second  group  of  writings  he  had  attacked 
the  exactions  of  the  papacy:  everyone  knew  that  Germany 
had  been  devoured  by  the  greed  and  the  tyranny  of  the 
pope.  If  such  writings  were  denied,  papal  oppression  could 
be  encouraged,  and  Germany  would  continue  to  be  ravaged. 
(3)  The  third  class  of  writings  were  against  his  adver- 
saries :  he  admitted  that  at  times  he  had  been  too  violent ; 
but  in  them  he  had  upheld  the  doctrine  of  Christ.  "I 
stand  here,^^  he  concluded,  ^^ready,  if  anyone  can  prove 
me  to  have  written  falsely,  to  retract  my  errors  and  to 
throw  my  books  into  the  fire  with  my  own  hands.  Beware 
lest  if  you  condemn  the  divine  Word,  that  Word  send  forth 
upon  you  a  deluge  of  ills.  I  seek  not  to  offer  advice  to  your 
high  and  mighty  understandings,  but  I  owe  this  testimony 
of  a  loving  heart  to  my  native  Germany." 

Establishing  the  Reform  Ideas. — It  is  impossible  to  men- 
tion here  all  or  in  any  detail  the  various  steps,  difficulties, 
divergences  of  view,  quarrels,  and  programs  by  which  the 
Reformation  became  established  in  Germany.  In  the  fore- 
going paragraphs  the  fundamental  Reformation  ideas  have 
been  given,  and  the  chief  services  of  Luther  narrated.  In 
1530  an  attempt  was  made  at  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  to  find 
a  basis  upon  which  Protestants  of  Germany  might  remain 
within  the  Catholic  Church.  But  the  conference  availed 
nothing :  the  breach  was  too  wide  and  too  deep.  There  were 
many  difficulties  and  local  problems  of  church  life  and  ad- 
ministration which  needed  solution  in  an  establishment  of 
the  Lutheran  Church.  The  Augsburg  Confession,  drawn 
up  in  1530,  to  present  a  summary  of  Reformation  belief, 
was  made  the  basis  of  a  legalization  of  Protestantism  in 
1555.  Each  German  state  was  left  to  choose  between  the 
Catholic  and  the  Lutheran  faith,  as  expressed  in  the  Augs- 

281 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

burg  Confession.  The  decision  of  the  prince  bound  his 
subjects,  but  any  individual  was  free  to  emigrate  to  find 
the  religion  of  his  choice. 

Summary:  The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  Dawn  of  New  Religious  Epoch. — It  has  been  said 
that  Luther  taught  nothing  new.  This  also  has  been  said 
of  Jesus.  But  the  indubitable  fact  remains  that  some- 
thing tremendously  new  sprang  out  of  their  lives.  The 
Reformation  was  the  dawning  of  a  new  religious  epoch.  It 
swept  aside  the  accumulated  hindrances  of  fellowship  be- 
tween man  and  God  and  set  the  individual  face  to  face  with 
his  divine  Father  to  receive  forgiveness  and  to  find  liberty 
and  gladness  of  soul.  Yet  this  religious  goal  would  not 
have  been  reached  in  Luther's  day  more  than  in  the  times 
of  Huss  had  not  the  majority  of  the  states  of  Germany  seen 
that  it  was  to  their  financial  and  political  interest  to  sup- 
port the  religious  reformers.  There  were  many  things  the 
Reformation  did  not  settle.  No  final  settlement  of  the 
forms  and  beliefs  of  the  religious  life  can  be  settled  by  any 
generation.  But  the  reformers  did  usher  in  a  spirit  which 
has  never  died.  They  taught  liberty  of  judgment,  and  that 
true  religion  ever  emphasizes  the  moral  life.  They  sub- 
stituted the  authority  of  truth  for  the  authority  of  official 
fiat  and  inaugurated  the  principle  that  only  that  is  truth 
which  weathers  the  test  of  reason  and  experience. 

The  Bible  in  Human  Life 

The  Bible  Lights  the  Path  of  Progress. — Wherever  the 
darkness  of  lust  and  passion  has  been  dispelled,  wherever 
the  night  of  wrong  and  intrenched  abuses  has  given  way 
to  dawn,  wherever  the  mists  of  ignorance  and  supersti- 
tion have  lifted,  the  Bible  has  thrown  its  flaring  beams 
against  the  shadows  and  ushered  in  the  glorious  day.  The 
Scriptures  gave  us  a  Paul  and  Savonarola,  a  Waldo  and 
Wycliffe,  a  Huss  and  Luther,  a  Carey  and  Chinese  Gor- 
don, a  Lincoln  and  Gladstone,  a  John  Howard  and  John 
Brown,  a  Tennyson  and  Browning,  a  Ruskin  and  Carlyle, 

282 


LUTHER  AND  THE  REFORMATION 

The  Bible  has  breathed  liberty  into  governments  and  insti- 
tutions, has  inspired  oppressed  peoples  to  win  their  rights, 
has  taught  debased  peoples  glowing  moral  ideals,  and  has 
given  courage  to  innumerable  thousands  of  lowly  men  and 
women  to  stand  steadfastly  for  truth  and  righteousness. 

The  Bible  Made  the  Reformation  Possible. — The  Refor- 
mation was  possible  because  the  new  interest  in  learning 
and  the  printing  press  opened  the  way  for  the  return  of 
the  Bible  into  the  homes  and  the  life  of  the  people.  Re- 
ligion made  its  way  into  church  and  state  with  the  Bible. 
The  Bible  was  rescued  from  the  oblivion  into  which  igno- 
rance had  thrust  it  and  brought  back  again  into  the  life 
of  the  people. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  was  the  nature  of  the  government  of  the  medieval 
church? 

2.  State  the  papal  attitude  toward  civil  authority. 

3.  What  effect  upon  the  people  had  the  moral  degeneracy 
of  the  popes  of  the  fifteenth  century? 

4.  Discuss  the  attempts  made  to  check  papal  absolutism. 

5.  In  what  way  did  the  growth  of  nationalism  help  in  effect- 
ing the  Reformation? 

6.  Discuss  the  new  intellectual  conditions  which  were  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  Reformation? 

7.  What  were  some  of  the  outstanding  social  changes  of 
the  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  century? 

8.  Discuss  the  event  which  precipitated  the  Reformation 
career  of  Martin  Luther. 

9.  What  did  he  urge  upon  the  German  nobility?  What  re- 
forms did  he  propose  in  1520? 

10.  Discuss  Luther's  position  concerning  papal  authority; 
the  sacraments;  the  meaning  of  religion;  the  Scriptures;  the 
nature  and  the  results  of  faith. 

11.  Why  was  Luther  excommunicated?  What  service  did 
his  theological  troubles  render  the  Kingdom? 

12.  Discuss  the  formulary  of  faith  which  was  realized  in 
Germany  as  the  basis  of  Protestant  religion. 

13.  What  are  some  of  the  enduring  results  of  the  Reforma- 
tion in  Germany? 

14.  What  was  the  contribution  of  the  political  and  economic 
interests  of  the  German  states  to  the  Reformation? 

15.  What  value  for  the  future  had  the  rediscovery  of  the 
value  of  the  individual? 

283 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Selected  Readings 

Protestant  Thought  Before  Kant,  McGiffert,  pages  26-60. 

A  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Walker,  pages  306-82. 

Works  of  Martin  Luther  (published  by  Holman  and  Com- 
pany), Volume  II,  pages  57-164.  This  is  a  translation  of 
Luther's  An  Open  Letter  to  the  Christian  NoMlity. 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Schaff,  Volume  VI,  pages 
94-743. 

Article  "Reformation"  in  Encyclopedia  Britannica  and  En- 
cyclopwdia  of  Religion  and  Ethics. 


284 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

CALVIN  AND  THE  HUGUENOTS 

In  the  Reformation  men  lifted  their  souls  out  of  the 
murky  atmospheres  of  moral  and  political  servitude  into 
the  blue  sky  of  individuality  and  spiritual  liberty,  and  the 
world  for  the  first  time  began  to  live.  But  Luther  did  not 
work  alone.  That  princely  German  did  not  carry  the 
Reformation  further  than  a  giant  protest  against  the  cor- 
rupt and  autocratic  medieval  church.  Had  no  other  torch- 
bearers  of  the  new  life  arisen  to  light  the  way  out  of  night 
into  day,  the  ethical  and  political  issues  of  the  Reforma- 
tion in  their  larger  meaning  certainly  never  would  have 
blessed  the  world.  This  chapter  depicts  the  Reformation 
in  Geneva  and  France  and  considers  the  work  of  Calvin 
and  the  hopes  and  tragedies  of  the  Huguenots.  Next  to 
Luther,  Calvin  is  our  greatest  reformer.  His  work  bridges 
the  centuries  and  often,  even  when  we  are  unaware  of  it, 
influences  us  all  to-day. 

Beginnings  of  the  Refoemation  in  France 

French  Protestants. — The  need  of  church  reform  was 
early  recognized  in  France.  Jean  Gerson  and  Pierre 
d^Ailly,  at  the  Council  of  Constance  in  1415,  were  the 
leaders  of  the  movement  to  subject  the  papacy  to  general 
councils.  The  New  Learning  was  welcomed  at  Paris  and 
created  a  new  sense  of  individuality  and  an  atmosphere  of 
unrest.  By  1519  Luther's  Latin  writings  were  being 
eagerly  read  at  Paris.  In  1523  Lefevre  translated  the  New 
Testament  into  French.  The  bishop  of  Meaux,  influenced 
by  Lefevre,  a  professor  at  the  University  of  Paris,  gath- 
ered about  him  several  preachers,  who  began  to  proclaim 
moderately  reformed  views,  basing  their  message  upon 
the  New  Testament.     The  church,  however,  began  to  no- 

285 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

tice  these  innovations,  and  two  men  suffered  martyrdom 
in  1525.  During  the  next  ten  years  the  Protestant  contin- 
gent spread,  sometimes  persecuted,  sometimes  tolerated. 
In  1535  a  royal  edict  was  published  that  the  heretics  were 
to  be  exterminated.  From  this  edict  begins  the  emigra- 
tion of  French  Protestants,  which  was  to  continue  more 
than  three  centuries.  In  1538  the  first  French  Protestant 
Church  was  organized  by  fifteen  refugees  at  Strassburg. 

The  Father  of  French  Protestantism 

John  Calvin. — A  learned  French  scholar,  leader  of  the 
New  Learning,  about  1532  suddenly  determined  to  join 
himself  to  the  Protestant  cause.  He  largely  prepared  an 
address  that  his  friend  Nicholas  Cop,  the  new  rector  of  the 
UniveTsity  of  Paris,  delivered  in  1533.  This  address  was  a 
defense  of  the  Reformed  opinions,  especially  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith.  The  authorities  were  incensed;  and 
to  escape  punishment  Cop  fled  to  Basel,  where,  somewhat 
later,  Calvin  became  the  outstanding  leader  of  French 
Protestantism.  Two  or  three  years  later  Calvin  was  in 
Geneva,  where,  much  against  his  desire,  he  was  persuaded 
to  enter  publicly  as  preacher  and  teacher  in  the  work  of 
applying  the  reform  ideas  to  the  religious  and  civil  life  of 
the  city.  With  the  exception  of  a  short  residence  in  Strass- 
burg he  remained  in  Geneva  until  he  died  in  1564. 

"Institutes  of  the  Christian  Eeligion." — While  Calvin 
was  living  at  Basel  he  published  a  defense  of  the  Reformed 
faith.  The  persecutions  in  France,  which  condemned  the 
Protestants  without  fair  trial,  aroused  Calvin  to  protest  to 
the  king  and  attach  to  protest  a  statement  of  the  beliefs  of 
the  Reformed  churches.  This  work  was  written  when  Cal- 
vin was  twenty-six  years  old;  and  although  it  was  several 
times  revised  and  enlarged,  the  fundamental  positions  were 
unchanged.  This  statement  of  Christian  doctrine,  known 
as  Calvinism,  became  the  basis  of  the  French  Protestantism, 
the  Reformed  churches  in  the  Netherlands,  the  Presby- 
terians in  Scotland,  England,  and  America,  and  the  Cal- 
vinistic  Methodists.  The  "Institutes"  were  prefaced  by  a 
letter  to  King  Francis — a  letter  that  rightfully  has  been 

286 


CALVIN  AND  THE  HUGUENOTS 

called  ''one  of  the  great  epistles  of  the  world."  Calvin, 
although  an  exile,  claims  for  himself  and  fellow  Protestants 
a  legal  place  in  the  state  and  brands  as  foulest  tyranny  the 
power  that  condemns  them  unheard.  He  tells  the  king  that 
his  first  duty  is  to  be  just,  points  out  the  vicious  character 
of  their  accusers,  and  refutes  calumnies  concerning  them- 
selves. 

The  Theocracy  at  Geneva. — Calvin  gave  the  modern 
world  its  first  theocracy,  (a)  Geneva. — One  needs  to  look 
only  at  the  map  of  Europe  to  realize  the  rare  opportunity 
and  destiny  of  Geneva.  It  is  a  gateway  of  nations.  Sur- 
rounded by  France  at  the  western  tip  of  the  crescent  lake 
whose  farthest  waters  lave  the  feet  of  the  Swiss  Alps; 
midway  upon  the  Ehone,  which  is  a  highway  to  the  sea 
and  a  path  to  the  heart  of  Switzerland;  in  the  midst  of  a 
plain  running  to  the  Rhine,  Germany,  and  the  Netherlands, 
the  city  is  strangely  fitted  for  the  guidance  of  the  fortunes 
of  mankind  at  the  dawn  of  the  modern  day.  The  Genevans 
of  old  were  a  cosmopolitan  people.  Built  at  the  crossing 
of  the  routes  of  trade,  the  city  shared  the  excellencies  and 
the  defects  of  a  mingled  race.  They  were  thrifty  and  ener- 
getic in  business,  diplomats  in  civic  affairs,  personally  de- 
voted to  liberty,  and  capable  of  prolonged  self-sacrifice. 

(b)  The  Genevan  theocraey. — In  1536  Calvin,  at  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age,  came  to  Geneva  and  was  impressed  by 
Farel,  who  had  brought  the  Eeformation  message  to  the 
city,  to  assume  the  leadership  of  the  Protestant  cause.  To 
the  end  of  his  life  Calvin  devoted  himself  to  the  creation 
of  a  state  wherein  the  divine  will  was  the  rule  of  life.  He 
compelled  men  by  the  very  grandeur  of  his  intellectual 
genius,  the  austerity  of  his  morals,  his  reliance  upon  God, 
and  the  nobleness  of  his  self-sacrifice  to  the  cause  he  cham- 
pioned, to  believe  that  every  office  of  government  is  sacred 
and  exists  only  for  the  glory  of  God.  A  new  Geneva 
rose  under  his  leadership.  Its  citizens,  indoctrinated  by 
his  catechism,  taught  by  the  university  which  he  estab- 
lished, morally  controlled  by  the  preachers  whom  he  trained, 
upheld  by  his  conceptions  of  a  spiritual  and  civil  democracy, 
became  a  new  people.    Calvin  produced  a  new  force  in  the 

287 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  REFOEMERS 

world.  The  little  Protestant  state,  breathing  the  Bible  in 
its  laws,  manners,  and  institutions,  successful  in  business, 
maintaining  its  liberty  against  strong  nations,  aware  of 
its  moral  leadership  among  the  peoples  of  Europe,  became 
the  world's  first  Puritan  commonwealth,  whose  ideal  in 
every  land  has  been  government  manifesting  the  will  of 
God. 

(c)  The  moral  austerity  of  Calvinism. — Calvin's  theol- 
ogy is  built  upon  the  rock  of  predestination:  God's  will 
everywhere  rules  the  world.  But  Calvin's  predestination 
did  not  rob  man  of  responsibility;  it  heightened  it  and  in- 
fused it  with  iron.  Calvin  is  quite  modern  in  his  recog- 
nition of  the  social  forces,  external  to  the  individual,  which 
mass  their  influences  upon  him.  He  saw  that  at  every  point 
the  individual  is  touched  by  forces  he  did  not  make: 
forces  in  which  the  slightest  change  alters  the  whole  tenor 
of  man's  life.  But  Calvin  held  that  although  God  shaped 
the  environment  of  man's  life  he  did  not  utterly  hedge  in 
his  creature's  choice  of  good  or  ill;  man's  choice  ever  was 
a  proximate  cause  in  the  affairs  of  life.  It  was  Calvin's 
clear  perception  of  the  wide  range  of  God's  ethical  demands 
which  gave  him  such  tremendous  power.  Calvinism  saved 
Europe  from  the  flood  of  license  which  the  revolt  from 
the  medieval  church  authority  naturally  engendered.  With 
the  passing  of  the  old  church  order  the  state  alone  pos- 
sessed authority  to  enforce  religious  and  moral  discipline. 
It  is  to  Calvin's  honor  that  he  brought  home  to  the 
state  its  obligation  of  moral  discipline. 

Calvin  and  the  Protestants  of  Feance 

A  Heroic  Church. — The  annals  of  Christianity  present 
no  greater  persecutions  and  no  greater  steadfastness  under 
trial  than  the  wounds  and  heroism  exhibited  by  the  Prot- 
estants of  France.  The  early  Christians  martyrs  suffered 
no  greater  hardships.  More  than  two  hundred  thousand 
Huguenots,  from  first  to  last,  were  tortured  and  slain,  and 
nearly  half  a  million  passed  into  exile  in  other  lands.  Cal- 
vin had  a  great  part  in  disciplining  this  heroic  church. 

(a)  The  spirit  of  Calvin. — Calvin's  Deity  was  the  Holy 
288 


CALVIN'  AND  THE  HUGUENOTS 

One  ruling  the  world  with  justice  and  power.  Men  might 
rise  to  fame  and  fortune,  flaunt  their  uncurbed  passions 
of  lust,  cruelty,  and  greed,  crush  those  by  exile  and  death 
who  reproached  their  libertinage ;  but  such  men  still  must 
reckon  with  God.  Calvin  saw,  or  believed  he  saw,  as  clearly 
as  this  world  ever  has  seen,  the  final  act  of  human  history. 
He  saw  in  his  own  time  a  religion  of  mysteries  which 
reason  was  to  make  no  attempt  to  solve;  a  public  worship 
full  of  pomp,  luxury,  and  meaningless  ceremonies ;  a  clergy 
commonplace  and  ignorant,  autocratic  and  indifferent;  he 
s.aw  a  nobility  and  court  restless  and  greedy,  full  of  scan- 
dals, brazen  in  luxury,  grounded  in  despotism,  antagonists 
of  justice  and  liberty.  He  saw  a  social  order  of  rapine  and 
cruelty,  lust  and  greed,  ignorance  and  superstition,  upheld 
in  the  name  of  Christ  by  a  church  from  which  the  spirit  of 
Christ  had  departed.  But  Calvin  saw  more  than  this:  he 
saw  the  avenging  God  ready  to  strike  these  blasphemers  and 
traitors  with  the  penalty  of  their  sins.  He  saw  the  dawn 
of  a  new  church  and  a  new  state,  where  morals  were  pure, 
where  the  people  selected  their  ministers  and  rulers,  and 
where  rulers  and  ministers  were  the  servants  of  the  people. 
Calvin  climbed  out  of  the  miasmic  levels  of  his  day  into 
the  spiritual  uplands.  All  around  him  he  saw  God's  moun- 
tains lift  rugged  and  stern  demands  of  truth,  purity,  and 
holiness,  mantled  with  the  rarest  colors  of  content  and  joy. 
With  this  vision  in  his  soul  it  was  easy  to  subdue  the  pas- 
sions, attempt  the  impossible,  scorn  the  customary  prizes, 
accept  the  galleys,  the  hangman,  and  the  fire. 

(b)  The  spirit  of  the  Huguenots. — Thus  Calvin  believed 
and  thus  he  inspired  the  men  to  believe  whom  he  sent  forth 
to  preach  the  gospel.  Into  France  alone  there  went  forth 
from  Geneva  during  Calvin's  life  one  hundred  and  sixty-one 
preachers  inspired  by  his  creed,  disciplined  by  his  spirit. 
These  men,  learned,  fearless,  saintly,  ever  cherishing  in 
their  soul  the  cross  of  Christ,  became  the  founders  of  the 
Huguenot  church.  No  heralds  of  the  truth  ever  have  met 
a  more  bitter  reception.  They  faced  a  persecution  unpar- 
alleled in  civilized  lands.  To  fail  to  reverence  a  crucifix,  to 
attend  a  Protestant  service,  to  own  a  Bible,  to  be  known  as 

289 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

having  come  from  Geneva,  was  a  sentence  of  death.  But 
these  men  knew  no  flinching  and  counted  it  a  joy  to  seal 
their  testimony  to  Christ  with  martyrdom.  On  their  way 
to  the  stake  and  even  when  the  flames  were  curling  round 
their  limbs,  they  refused  life  and  liberty  at  the  price  of 
hearing  a  mass  or  kissing  the  cross.  God  gave  them  a 
vision  of  the  Celestial  City. 

Church  Organization  in  France. — Protestant  churches 
had  been  organized  at  Meaux  in  1546  and  Nismes  in  1547, 
but  both  were  broken  up  by  persecution.  The  flrst  perma- 
nent organization  took  place  at  Paris  in  1555.  The  society 
was  modeled  after  the  church  in  Strassburg  founded  by 
Calvin  in  1538.  Those  who  banded  themselves  together 
in  Christian  fellowship  chose  their  pastor  and  then  a  coun- 
cil of  deacons  and  elders  to  assist  him  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  church.  Other  churches  rapidly  followed,  and 
by  1558  it  was  estimated  that  there  were  three  hundred 
thousand  Protestants  in  France.  All  these  churches  fol- 
lowed Calvin's  model  and  were  under  his  supervision.  In 
the  face  of  religious  persecution  the  reform  movement 
spread  and  won  accessions  from  the  highest  classes  of  so- 
ciety. The  scattered  churches  were  brought  together  in  a 
synod  held  in  Paris  in  1559.  This  synod  provided  for  both 
church  government  and  church  doctrine.  The  individual 
churches  situated  near  each  other  were  grouped  into  a 
council.  The  councils  were  grouped  into  provincial  synods, 
in  which  each  church  was  equally  represented  by  the  clergy 
and  laity.  The  National  Synod  was  composed  of  lay  and 
clerical  delegates  elected  by  the  provincial  synods.  Thus 
arose  the  direct  product  of  Calvin's  thought — the  Presby- 
terian form  of  church  government.  The  confession  of  faith 
adopted  for  the  Protestant  Church  of  France  at  the  Synod 
of  1559  was  almost  wholly  the  composition  of  Calvin. 

Huguenot  Trials  and  Triumphs 

Struggles  for  Freedom  of  Worship. — By  1561  there  were 
twenty-one  hundred  and  fifty  Huguenot  (French  Protest- 
ant, or  Reformed)  churches  in  France.  Some  of  the  ablest 
Frenchmen  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  of  their  number. 

290 


CALVIN  AND  THE  HUGUENOTS 

The  Huguenots,  to  resist  persecution,  became  a  political 
party,  and  the  country  for  a  half  century  was  torn  with  civil 
wars.  The  Massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew  (1572)  robbed 
the  Huguenots  of  their  leaders,  but  the  struggle  continued 
until  the  Edict  of  Nantes  (1598)  guaranteed  the  Protest- 
ants political  and  religious  liberty.  The  Roman  Catholics 
continually  protested  against  the  edict,  and  under  Louis 
XIV  it  was  revoked,  and  France  lost  by  death  and  exile 
nearly  half  a  million  of  its  best  citizens.  Yet  the  Hugue- 
nots were  not  utterly  crushed.  They  held  their  services  in 
secret.  Pastors,  making  light  of  death,  returned  from 
exile  to  comfort  and  sustain  the  harried  churches.  The 
galleys  were  filled  by  the  faithful,  who  were  discovered 
from  time  to  time.  The  history  of  the  Huguenots  is  the 
history  of  a  church  that  refused  to  die.  Even  when  Louis 
XIV  thought  they  were  utterly  crushed,  the  churches  began 
to  multiply.  Due  largely  to  the  zeal  of  LaFayette,  their 
civil  rights  were  restored  in  1787,  and  in  1789  their  liberty 
of  worship  was  granted  them.  There  are  more  than  half  a 
million  spiritual  descendants  of  Calvin  in  France  at  the 
present  time. 

Huguenot  Migrations. — Other  nations  may  bless  Louis 
XIV  for  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  Although 
emigration  was  forbidden  under  penalty  of  the  gallows, 
multiplied  thousands  of  French  Protestants  made  their 
way  into  other  lands.  They  were  welcomed  almost  every- 
where. They  introduced  new  manufacturing  industries 
into  north  Germany.  They  built  up  a  suburb  of  London. 
They  furnished  regiments  of  soldiers  to  the  Prince  of 
Orange.  They  founded  a  colony  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
They  founded  many  a  prosperous  business  in  Massachu- 
setts. The  Huguenots  poured  thousands  into  the  Carolinas, 
settled  entire  villages,  and  mingled  their  fortunes  and 
their  blood  in  the  American  War  of  Independence.  Faneuil 
Hall  was  given  to  Boston  by  a  Huguenot;  Bowdoin  Col- 
lege bears  a  Huguenot  name  and  was  made  possible  by 
Huguenot  money.  Oberlin  College  perpetuates  the  name 
of  a  beloved  Huguenot  minister.  Two  of  the  five  commis- 
sioners who  negotiated  the  treaty  with  England  which  se- 

291 


APOSTLES,  FATHEES,  AND  REFORMEES 

cured  American  independence,  John  Jay  and  Henry 
Laurens,  were  Huguenots.  Truly  French  Protestantism, 
out  of  the  deepest  suffering,  has  enriched  the  world. 

Summary  :    The  Coming  Kingdom 

Puritanism  the  Permanent  Result  of  Luther's  Work. — 

The  Reformation,  breaking  up  the  old  order  of  church  gov- 
ernment, theology,  and  morals,  in  Luther's  day  did  not 
erect  a  new  order  upon  the  newly  won  liberty.  That  emer- 
gence from  chaos  into  ordered  liberty  of  church  and  state 
was  the  accomplishment  of  the  Puritans  of  France,  Eng- 
land, and  the  New  World.  The  Huguenots,  the  Puritans 
of  France,  were  the  crystal  fountains  of  new  life  whose 
refreshing  streams  might  have  transformed  into  a  paradise 
the  barren  waste  of  French  government,  art,  education,  and 
morals;  but  those  currents  of  ethical  power  were  despised 
and  harassed  through  a  century  and  a  half  by  Eomanist 
bigotry  and  absolutism  until  they  were  deflected  from  their 
natural  courses  to  fertilize  with  their  idealism  the  industry 
and  political  institutions  of  other  lands. 

Calvin's  Vision  a  Source  of  Power. — The  source  of  Puri- 
tan civilization  is  not  Wittenberg  but  Geneva;  not  Luther 
but  Calvin.  The  church,  by  its  lust  and  politics,  its  indif- 
ference to  the  deadly  bondage,  its  eagerness  for  gain  had 
imposed  upon  men's  souls,  no  longer  led  men  who  dared 
to  think,  to  honor  God.  It  is  Calvin's  greatness  that  he 
voiced  the  majesty  and  authority  of  the  living  God  in  a 
dying  age  and  arrested  by  the  overwhelming  grandeur  of 
his  convictions  the  process  of  decay  in  western  Europe. 
He  tore  away  the  dead  institutionalism  that  the  church 
had  built  between  man  and  his  Maker  and  taught  men  to 
stand  humbly  but  confidently  in  the  presence  of  their  Cre- 
ator. No  other  reformer  flashed  the  eternal  glory  of  God 
so  brilliantly  upon  the  sinful  life  of  men.  He  brought 
home  to  men  the  supreme  imperative :  the  subordination  of 
the  wish  of  the  hour  to  the  claims  of  eternity.  Above  all 
kings,  emperors,  and  dignitaries  of  the  church  he  saw  the 
sovereign  Lord  of  earth  and  heaven,  whose  will  the  rebel- 

292 


CALVIN  AND  THE  HUGUENOTS 

lious  princes  of  the  world  cannot  withstand.  Above  all  the 
voices  of  luxury,  power,  lust,  and  expediency  he  heard  the 
word  of  the  Eternal  go  forth  that  men  must  be  just  and 
righteous,  stern  warriors  against  the  corrupting  sins  of  a 
polluted  and  depraved  world. 

Calvin's  Influence  in  the  Affairs  of  Men. — It  has  fallen 
to  the  lot  of  no  churchman  to  surpass  Calvin  in  the  mag- 
nitude of  his  influence  in  the  affairs  of  men.  It  seems  in- 
credible that,  even  by  the  sheer  weight  of  his  powerful 
genius,  he  should  have  been  able  to  shape  so  exten- 
sively the  free  institutions  of  the  modern  world.  His  let- 
ters went  to  the  nobility,  the  prime  ministers,  and  the 
kings  of  several  lands,  to  the  foremost  reformers  of  every 
city,  to  the  most  inconspicuous  martyr  whose  last  earthly 
hours  he  could  comfort  and  encourage.  He  won  Geneva's 
freedom,  indoctrinated  Switzerland,  gave  the  Huguenot 
church  to  France,  liberated  the  Netherlands  from  Spain,  set 
up  the  Eeformation  in  Scotland,  loomed  larger  than  Crom- 
well in  England's  Puritanism,  taught  the  Pilgrims  to  face 
the  wintry  seas  and  trust  themselves  to  the  Western  world, 
wrote  martyrdom  into  the  soul  of  Protestantism,  gave  the 
Presbyterian  doctrines  and  church  government  to  many 
lands,  and  lives  in  the  Huguenot  contribution  of  industry, 
education,  and  morality  to  their  adopted  fatherlands.  "No 
one  who  ever  followed  his  counsel  went  wrong,"  wrote  Beza, 
who  succeeded  him  at  Geneva.  Calvin  and  the  Huguenots 
proved  the  happy  and  natural  union  of  patriotism,  indus- 
try, and  liberty  with  the  sternest  morality  and  most  exalted 
religious  convictions. 

The  Presence  of  God 

Man's  Lowliness. — Paul,  Augustine,  and  Calvin  lived  by 
an  abounding  vision  of  God,  the  mighty  Sovereign  of  the 
world.  Beside  the  ineffable  glory  of  his  wisdom  and  power 
the  life  of  man  seemed  puny  and  vain.  Of  what  goodness 
can  man  boast  beside  the  dazzling  purity  of  God  ?  How  can 
he  pride  himself  in  freedom  when  his  liberty  leads  him  into 
lust  and  greed?     How  can  he  stand  unabashed  before  a 

293 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Being  whose  laws  he  has  trampled  in  the  mire  ?  Verily  he 
can  claim  no  mercy,  demand  nothing  from  the  Deity  whose 
unworthy  creature  he  is. 

Man's  Greatness. — But  lo  !  Men  become  conscious  of  the 
infinite  grace  of  God  in  their  lives.  He  has  chosen  them  to 
be  his  servants,  his  ministers,  his  sons.  The  humbled, 
cowed,  groveling  creature  stands  erect:  the  divine  mercy 
has  made  him  a  man :  God  has  created  him  his  vicegerent 
in  this  wicked  world.  The  Puritan  is  born.  The  Hugue- 
not arrives.  Calvin  speaks,  and  martyrs  for  the  cause  of 
God  are  branded,  tortured,  burned.  Knox  reforms  Scot- 
land. Bunyan  travels  to  the  Celestial  City.  Blind  Milton 
writes  a  drama  of  the  universe.  Cromwell  creates  an  orig- 
inal commonwealth.  The  Pilgrims  land  at  Plymouth  Rock. 
Iron  is  poured  into  the  blood  of  the  Western  world.  Its 
power  still  lives. 

Theocratic  Government. — This  is  the  world's  supreme 
need:  government  in  which  those  who  are  exalted  to  au- 
thority see  beyond  the  political  expediency  of  the  hour  the 
will  of  the  eternal  God  to  be  wrought  out  in  life.  To  see 
no  higher  goal  than  commercial  ends  in  government  is  the 
stupid  path  to  ruin.  The  world  is  full  of  the  wrecks  of 
material  selfishness.  But  what  explains  the  Huguenots? 
What  furnished  them  their  strange  strength?  What  en- 
abled them  to  cling  so  passionately  to  their  goal?  They 
saw  God,  they  were  upheld  by  God.  They  had  received 
God's  commission  to  erect  a  righteous  social  order  on  earth. 
They  were  kept  by  this  vision  of  government  existing  to 
fulfill  the  pleasure  of  the  Most  High. 

The  World's  Debt  to  Calvin. — We  Methodists  could  not 
worship  without  him.  We  have  not  followed  his  theology 
but  we  are  his  debtors  for  more  than  we  know.  His  ideal- 
ism is  in  our  blood.  God  summoning  men  to  righteous- 
ness was  his  creed,  and  for  this  creed  he  labored  with  a 
martyr's  soul  until  he  died.  With  every  acceptance  of 
duty,  with  every  rush  of  repentant  shame,  with  every  lift- 
ing of  the  soul  to  God  and  sterner  resolve  to  do  his  will,  we 
are  the  inheritors  of  the  truths  he  championed :  truths  that 
have  filtered  through  our  English  institutions  and  ideals 

294 


CALVIN  AND  THE  HUGUENOTS 

and  in  our  soberer  hours  summon  us  with  strange,  irresist- 
ible power. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  is  the  relation  of  the  Scriptures  to  the  reform 
movements  thus  far  stated? 

2.  Contrast  Calvin's  use  of  the  Bible  with  the  use  made 
of  it  by  Waldo  and  Wycliffe. 

3.  To  what  extent  was  the  revival  of  preaching  based  on 
the  Scriptures? 

4.  Discuss  the  life  of  John  Calvin. 

5.  In  what  ways  was  he  the  father  of  French  Protestantism? 

6.  To  what  extent  did  Calvin  make  a  great  contribution 
to  Protestantism  with  (a)  his  theology,  (b)  his  emphasis  upon 
education,  (c)  his  moral  sternness? 

7.  How  are  the  convictions  of  Calvin  seen  in  (a)  his  cor- 
respondence with  other  reformers,  (&)  his  training  of  Hugue- 
not preachers,  (c)  his  gift  of  the  Presbyterian  form  of  gov- 
ernment to  the  church? 

8.  Discuss  the  first  permanent  church  organization  of  Paris. 

9.  In  what  struggles  for  freedom  of  worship  did  the  Hugue- 
nots participate? 

10.  Discuss  the  Huguenot  migrations  and  the  Influence 
they  had  on  the  lands  to  which  these  people  went. 

11.  State  the  advance  that  Calvin's  reform  made  over  that 
of  Luther. 

Reading  References 

Articles  "Calvinism"  and  "Huguenots"  in  Encyclopedia 
of  Religion  and  Ethics. 

Articles  "Calvin"  and  "Huguenots"  in  Encyclopcedia  Britan- 
nica. 

A  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Walker,  pages  386-401; 
431-41. 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  SchafC,  Volume  VII,  pages 
223-876. 

The  Reformation  in  the  Lands  Beyond  Germany,  Lindsay, 
pages  61-223. 

The  Psalms  in  Human  Life,  Prothero,  Chapter  VIII. 

History  of  France,  Duruy,  Chapters  XLIII-XLVII. 


295 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

THE  ENGLISH  AND  SCOTTISH  REFORMATION 

The  Reformation  in  England  and  Scotland,  though  it 
followed  paths  beaten  for  it  by  the  reformers  of  Germany 
and  Switzerland,  is  an  exceedingly  important  Kingdom 
movement.  It  gave  liberty  of  conscience,  democratic  gov- 
ernment, and  church  creeds  and  government  to  the  vast 
English-speaking  world.  The  establishment  of  the  Refor- 
mation in  Zurich,  in  Norway  and  Sweden,  in  Denmark  and 
the  Netherlands,  though  an  important  contribution  to 
modern  civilization,  lies  sufficiently  outside  of  the  main 
currents  of  the  Reformation  to  be  neglected  by  the  brief 
treatment  here  possible. 

The  Reformation  in  England 

Factors  in  the  Revolt  From  Rome. — (a)  The  Lollards. — 
It  will  be  recalled  from  Chapter  XXI  that  the  followers  of 
Wycliffe,  called  Lollards,  were  subject  to  great  persecu- 
tions. Although  driven  to  cover  they  were  not  utterly 
crushed.  In  country  districts,  among  the  humbler  classes 
in  towns,  and  occasionally  in  higher  ranks  the  spirit  of 
Wycliffe  lived  in  the  objections  that  images  were  idols, 
and  that  prayers  to  saints  and  pilgrimages  were  gross 
abuses,  and  in  the  belief  that  the  Scriptures  are  the  sole 
rule  of  faith.  Many  manuscript  copies  of  Wycliffe's  Bible, 
dating  from  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  now 
extant,  evidence  that  the  book  was  cherished  in  secret  and 
read  in  danger.  In  spite  of  the  danger  and  the  fact  that 
during  the  fifteenth  century  many  were  imprisoned  for 
life  for  possessing  and  reading  the  Bible  the  sacred  writ- 
ings were  prized  by  great  numbers.  Sometimes  a  little 
company  would  sit  the  night  through  listening  to  some 
trained  reader.    A  load  of  hay  frequently  was  given  for  a 

296 


ENGLISH  AND  SCOTTISH  EEFORMATION 

few  chapters  of  James  or  of  Paul.  The  entire  Bible,  though 
costing  two  hundred  dollars,  was  owned  by  many.  Among 
the  poor  some  with  excellent  memories  committed  parts 
of  the  Scripture  to  memory,  and  such  were  in  frequent 
demand  to  recite  their  memorized  Bible  to  little  circles  of 
the  humble. 

(b)  The  New  Learning. — The  awakened  interest  in  clas- 
sical studies  in  England  primarily  became  a  study  of  the 
Greek  New  Testament  and  a  new  zeal  for  religious  educa- 
tion. Several  new  colleges  at  the  universities  were  founded, 
that  the  new  studies  might  be  pursued.  Colet  lectured  on 
Paul's  Epistles  in  Greek  at  Oxford  and  later  in  London. 
He  set  forth  in  these  lectures  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith.  Erasmus,  professor  of  Greek  at  Cambridge, 
published  a  critical  edition  of  the  New  Testament.  Sir 
Thomas  More  embodied  some  of  the  new  religious  views  in 
his  Utopia.  Thomas  Wolsey,  prime  minister  of  Henry 
VIII,  encouraged  the  teaching  of  Greek,  endowed  the  edu- 
cation of  the  clergy,  founded  Christ  Church  College  at 
Oxford,  and  sought  to  reform  the  church  along  these  edu- 
cational lines.  All  these  efforts  were  accustoming  the 
people  to  the  reception  of  new  ideas.  Luther's  writings  by 
1521  were  well  known  in  the  English  universities  and  did 
much  to  quicken  the  hostility  to  the  papacy. 

(c)  The  English  Bible. — The  gradual  change  of  the  Eng- 
lish language  from  the  time  of  Wycliffe  to  the  Eeforma- 
tion  period  necessitated  a  new  translation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  invention  of  the  printing  press  made  the  pro- 
ject a  possible  success.  Although  it  was  still  an  offense 
punishable  by  death  at  the  stake  to  possess  the  Scriptures 
in  the  language  of  the  people,  there  were  not  lacking  men 
who  risked  life  to  place  the  Bible  in  the  homes  of  England. 
The  foremost  of  these  was  William  Tyndale. 

William  Tyndale. — As  early  as  1521,  when  a  tutor  in  an 
English  family,  Tyndale  was  disputing  with  a  priest  who 
declared,  *^We  were  better  without  God's  law  than  the 
pope's."  Tyndale  was  roused  to  defy  the  pope  and  all  his 
works  and  ended  his  retort  by  exclaiming:  '*If  God  spare 
my  life,  ere  many  years  I  will  cause  a  boy  that  driveth  the 

297 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

plow  shall  know  more  of  the  Scriptures  than  thou  dost/'^ 
Tyndale  clung  to  his  resolve,  but  there  was  no  place  in 
England  where  he  could  set  about  his  task.  He  reached 
Hamburg  in  1524  and  there  undertook  the  translation  of 
the  New  Testament.  Financial  support  for  the  enterprise 
came  from  Humphrey  Monmouth,  a  merchant  of  London. 
In  1525  Tyndale  was  in  Cologne,  secretly  engaged  in  get- 
ting his  New  Testament  printed.  Before  the  printing  was 
completed,  he  was  betrayed  to  the  authorities;  but  he  es- 
caped to  Worms,  carrying  with  him  the  partly  printed 
copies.  From  this  city,  in  1526,  six  thousand  copies  of  the 
New  Testament  were  smuggled  into  England.  English 
bishops  made  every  effort  to  suppress  these  books.  They 
were  bought  and  burned,  but  the  money  received  enabled 
Tyndale  to  issue  a  better  edition.  Twice  was  he  able  to 
print  revisions  of  the  New  Testament,  and  in  1530  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Pentateuch  came  from  the  press.  While  living 
at  Antwerp  in  1535  he  was  betrayed  to  the  authorities. 
He  was  imprisoned  in  Vilvorde  Castle,  near  Brussels,  where 
he  continued  his  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  as  far  as 
2  Chronicles.  After  sixteen  months  he  was  condemned  to 
death.    He  was  strangled,  and  his  body  was  burned. 

Tyndale's  Work  Lives  On. — Tyndale  might  be  strangled 
by  an  ignorant  and  blind  church,  but  his  work  could  not 
be  silenced.  The  printing  press  and  the  eagerness  of  the 
people  to  read  the  Bible  in  their  spoken  tongue  were  forces 
before  which  bishops  and  princes  were  powerless.  Tyndale 
more  than  any  other  person  gave  the  characteristic  shape 
to  our  English  Bible.  Even  in  the  Revised  Version  of  1881 
80  per  cent  of  the  words  stand  precisely  as  they  did  in  Tyn- 
dale's version  of  1525.  Many  of  the  beautiful  phrases 
now  so  familiar  come  from  him ;  for  example,  "In  him  we 
live  and  move  and  have  our  being";  "turned  to  flight  the 
armies  of  the  aliens'' ;  "singing  and  making  melody  in  your 
hearts." 

Miles  Coverdale. — Coverdale,  an  Augustinian  friar,  in 
1528  preached  a  sermon  that  was  regarded  as  heretical. 


1  History  of  the  English  Bible,  Brown,  page  39. 

298 


ENGLISH  AND  SCOTTISH  REFOR.AIATION 

Discarding  the  habit  of  his  order,  he  fled  to  the  continent, 
where,  apparently,  he  assisted  Tyndale  with  the  publication 
of  the  Pentateuch.  Tyndale  succeeded  in  publishing  of 
the  Old  Testament  only  the  Pentateuch  and  Jonah.  From 
1530  to  1535  Coverdale  was  somewhere  on  the  continent 
translating  and  seeing  through  the  press  the  entire  Bible. 
A  revised  edition  was  printed  two  years  later.  In  the  mean- 
while a  changed  attitude  toward  the  Bible  in  English  had 
taken  place  in  England.  It  was  seen  that  the  English 
Bible  could  not  be  suppressed;  and,  consequently,  the 
church  authorities  were  ready  to  approve  a  copy  that  was 
free  from  the  objectionable  glosses  of  Tyndale  and  Cover- 
dale.  In  1537  the  so-called  "Matthew's  Bible,"  substantially 
a  combination  of  Tyndale's  and  Coverdale's  translations, 
appeared  and  was  permitted  to  circulate  freely.  In  1539 
the  "Great  Bible,^'  a  revision  of  Matthew's  Bible,  made  by 
Coverdale,  was  printed  and  ordered  by  royal  authority  to  be 
placed  in  every  church  of  the  realm,  where  it  was  freely  to 
be  read  by  all. 

Henry  VIII. — It  is  one  of  the  strange  facts  of  history 
that  the  most  powerful  factor  in  England's  revolt  from 
Eome  was  a  tyrannic  king  inspired  by  the  basest  of  mo- 
tives. Henry  did  two  valuable  services  for  the  English 
Reformation:  He  favored  the  heretics.  In  advancing 
bishops  like  Cranmer  and  Latimer  he  was  favoring  beliefs 
that  would  undermine  the  authority  of  Rome.  In  other 
ways  he  protected  men  who  spoke  openly  against  the  evils  in 
the  church.  But  even  this  service  was  a  part  of  his  greater 
service  in  freeing  England  from  the  spiritual  jurisdiction 
of  the  pope.  This  attitude  to  the  Reformation  and  his 
momentous  break  with  Rome  were  chiefly  inspired  in 
Henry  by  his  passion  for  Anne  Boleyn.  In  order  to  wed 
Anne,  Henry  sought  a  divorce  from  his  wife  Catherine. 
The  long  delay  of  the  papal  court  to  decide  the  suit  led 
Henry  to  renounce  papal  jurisdiction.  He  declared  him- 
self head  of  the  English  Church  and  won  his  divorce  in 
the  court  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The  parlia- 
ment ( 1529-36  \  packed  and  skillfully  managed,  responded 
to  all  the  king's  demands.     The  king  was  declared  "The 

299 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

Supreme  Head  of  the  Church  on  Earth  of  the  Church  of 
England/'  Various  acts  were  passed  which  centered 
church  government  in  England  in  the  crown.  Men  who  re- 
sisted the  usurpation  were  burned  or  beheaded.  The  mon- 
asteries, the  chief  upholders  of  papal  supremacy,  were  sup- 
pressed, and  their  revenues  alienated  from  the  church  by 
the  king. 

The  Extent  of  the  English  Reformation 

Under  Henry. — The  church  under  Henry  did  not  greatly 
differ  from  the  church  that  recognized  the  papal  supremacy. 
The  immediate  act  and  results  of  the  separation  effected  by 
the  king  were  not  a  reformation  at  all.  During  the  whole 
of  his  reign  Henry  adhered  rather  closely  to  the  doctrines 
of  the  medieval  church.  Some  of  the  more  outstanding 
abuses  were  discarded.  Purgatory  and  indulgences,  images 
and  relics,  and  pilgrimages  were  excluded.  But  the  doc- 
trines of  transubstantiation,  celibacy  of  clergy,  auricular 
confession,  private  masses,  and  the  withholding  of  the  cup 
from  the  laity  were  retained.  Any  denial  or  violation  of 
these  things  was  punishable  by  death.  The  chief  reform 
service  rendered  by  Henry  was  the  authorization  of  the 
Bible  in  the  English  language. 

Under  Edward  VI  (1547-53).— The  Council  of  Regency, 
which  ruled  England  in  the  name  of  the  boy  king,  was 
more  favorable  to  reform  than  Henry  had  been.  Preaching 
was  encouraged.  Prayer  books  in  English  were  authorized. 
The  second  prayer  book  of  1552,  with  some  modifications, 
is  the  present  prayer  book  of  the  Church  of  England.  For- 
ty-two articles  of  religion  stated  the  doctrines  held.  These 
in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  were  reduced  to  thirty-nine,  which 
are  still  held  by  the  established  church. 

Under  Mary  (1553-58). — Queen  Mary  was  a  Roman 
Catholic,  and  everything  in  her  power  was  done  to  check  the 
Reformation.  All  the  reforming  legislation  was  revoked. 
The  English  Church  was  again  united  to  Rome.  Persecu- 
tion of  Protestants  was  severe.  Nearly  three  hundred  were 
burned.  Among  them  were  Bishops  Ridley  and  Latimer 
and  Archbishop  Cranmer.     Many  fled  from  England  to 

300 


ENGLISH  AND  SCOTTISH  REFORMATION 

find  refuge  at  Geneva  and  other  Protestant  cities  of  the 
continent. 

Ecclesiastics  and  the  English  Reformation 

Thomas  Cranmer. — The  story  of  the  English  revolt  from 
Rome  would  be  incomplete  vrithout  some  mention  of  the 
chief  ecclesiastic  in  this  stormy  period.  It  was  Cranmer 
who  enabled  Henry  VIII  to  divorce  Queen  Catherine.  By 
an  unworthy  subserviency  he  weathered  the  tyranny  of  his 
royal  master,  remained  in  office  through  Edward  VI's 
reign,  and  was  burned  as  a  heretic  under  Mary.  It  fell  to 
Cranmer  to  carry  out  the  changes  in  the  church  which 
the  break  with  Rome  involved.  Cranmer  encouraged  the 
use  of  the  English  Bible  and  compiled  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  two  prayer  books.  The  forty-two  articles  of  religion 
owe  their  form  and  style  almost  entirely  to  Cranmer. 

The  Litany. — The  beautiful  Litany  of  the  prayer  book, 
still  in  use,  is  the  language  of  Cranmer.  The  following 
sections  indicate  its  spirit: 

We  sinners  do  beseech  thee  that  it  may  please  thee  to  give 
us  an  heart  to  love  and  fear  thee,  and  diligently  to  live  after 
thy  commandments: 

That  it  may  please  thee  to  strengthen  such  as  do  stand; 
and  to  comfort  and  help  the  weak-hearted;  and  to  raise  up 
those  who  fall;  and  finally  to  beat  down  Satan  under  our 
feet: 

That  it  may  please  thee  to  give  us  true  repentance;  to 
forgive  us  all  our  sins,  negligences,  and  ignorance;  and  to 
endue  us  with  the  grace  of  thy  Holy  Spirit  to  amend  our 
lives  according  to  thy  holy  words. 

Cranmer's  Martyrdom. — Under  Queen  Mary,  Cranmer 
was  deposed  and  sentenced  to  death.  His  prominent  part 
in  the  divorce  trial  of  Mary's  mother.  Queen  Catharine,  and 
his  leadership  of  the  Reformation  condemned  him  to  death. 
Before  his  sentence,  induced  by  hopes  of  pardon,  Cran- 
mer professed  the  Roman  faith;  but  in  his  last  hours  he 
bitterly  repented  his  weakness  and,  to  indicate  this,  of  his 
own  accord  thrust  his  right  hand,  which  had  written  his 
denial  of  the  reformed  faith,  into  the  fire  and  held  it  there 
until  burned.    Cranmer  has  been  called  the  most  mysteri- 

301 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

ous  figure  of  the  Reformation.  He  was  the  tool  of  Henry 
VIII  but  he  favored  the  Reformation  of  the  church  and 
by  his  death  confirmed  in  men's  minds  that  beneath  all 
his  political  subserviency  there  was  indeed  the  brave  soul 
of  the  reformer. 

The  Reformation  of  Scotland 

Before  Knox. — From  Chapter  XVIII  it  will  be  recalled 
that  the  Celtic  monasteries  of  Ireland  and  Scotland  were 
seats  of  learning.  This  educational  spirit  never  wholly  per- 
ished. In  the  fourteenth  century  Scottish  students  were 
at  Oxford,  where  the  influence  of  Wycliffe  was  most  in- 
tense. They  became  imbued  with  the  Lollard  ideas,  and 
these  views  lived  on  into  the  Reformation.  In  1494  thirty 
persons  were  summoned  before  King  James  IV  for  hold- 
ing heretical  opinions.  They  were  known  as  the  "Lollards 
of  Kyle."  Hussite  doctrines  also  made  their  way  into  Scot- 
land. Paul  Cracaw,  a  Bohemian,  was  condemned  to  the 
fire  in  1431.  Lutheran  writings  reached  the  east  coast 
towns  by  1525,  in  which  year  the  importation  of  such  books 
was  forbidden  by  Parliament.  Tyndale's  New  Testament 
also  found  eager  purchasers.  From  1525  to  1542  heretics 
multiplied  rapidly,  and  many  executions  took  place. 

Under  the  Guidance  of  John  Knox. — Knox  was  easily 
the  foremost  leader  of  the  Scottish  Reformation.  It  is  im- 
possible to  overestimate  his  services  to  the  Protestant  cause. 
Without  him  the  reformers  of  Scotland  scarcely  could  have 
succeeded. 

(a)  Early  services  (15J^2-5Jt), — The  infant  Mary,  Queen 
of  Scots,  entered  into  her  rights  to  the  Scottish  throne  in 
1542.  Henry  VIII,  wishing  to  alienate  Scotland  from 
French  influence,  proposed  a  marriage  of  alliance  between 
Edward  VI  and  the  infant  queen.  Those  who  were  favor- 
ing the  Reformation  favored  the  treaty  with  England.  The 
English  party  in  Scotland  at  first  prevailed.  But  the 
Catholics  and  French  sympathizers  soon  got  the  upper 
hand,  and  the  treaties  with  England  were  revoked.  Mary 
was  sent  to  France  to  be  educated,  and  persecution  of 
heretics  was  renewed.     John  Knox,  a  priest,  thirty-two 

302 


ENGLISH  AND  SCOTTISH  REFOEMATION 

years  of  age,  accompanied  George  Wishart  in  preaching 
tours,  which  ended  in  the  latter's  death  at  the  stake  in 
1546.  The  reformers,  to  avenge  his  death,  seized  the 
Castle  of  Saint  Andrews  and  put  Cardinal  Beaton,  head 
of  the  Catholic  party,  to  death.  Knox,  with  many  others, 
repaired  to  Saint  Andrews,  where  Protestant  services  were 
established,  and  where  Knox  soon  was  induced  to  under- 
take preaching.  In  1457  the  French,  to  put  down  the 
Eeformation,  attacked  Saint  Andrews,  captured  the  place, 
and,  treacherously  refusing  to  carry  out  the  terms  of  sur- 
render, sent  most  of  the  prisoners  to  the  galleys.  After 
nineteen  months  of  inferno  Knox,  with  the  others,  was 
released.  During  the  next  five  years  Knox  was  a  minister 
in  Berwick,  New  Castle,  and  London. 

(h)  Knox  at  Geneva  (155^-58). — These  years  abroad 
are  summarized  by  Knox  himself  in  his  History  of  the 
Reformation  of  Religion  in  Scotland.  Knox  left  England 
at  the  accession  of  Queen  Mary : 

When  the  said  John  left  England  he  then  passed  to  Geneva 
and  there  remained  at  his  privy  study  till  that  he  was  called 
by  the  English  congregation  that  then  was  assembled  at 
Frankfort  to  be  preacher  to  them;  which  vocation  he  obeyed, 
albeit  unwillingly,  at  the  command  of  that  notable  servant 
of  God,  John  Calvin;  at  Frankfort  he  remained  till  that 
some  of  the  learned,  whose  names  we  suppress,  more  given 
to  unprofitable  ceremonies  than  to  sincerity  of  religion,  began 
to  quarrel  with  the  said  John.  The  magistrate,  perceiving 
their  malice,  gave  advertisement  secretly  to  him  to  depart 
their  city;  for  they  could  not  save  him  if  he  were  required 
by  the  emperor  or  the  queen  of  England  in  the  emperor's 
name.    And  so  the  said  John  returned  to  Geneva. 

Knox  returned  to  Scotland  in  1555  for  a  brief  visit.  Then 
the  English  church  at  Geneva  called  him  to  be  their  min- 
ister. Here  Knox  remained  until  1556,  when  he  was  sum- 
moned home  by  several  of  the  Scottish  nobility  to  lead  them 
in  the  establishment  of  the  Eeformation. 

The  Scottish  Reformation  Accomplished 

The  Church  Organized  (1558).— In  1557  the  Protestants 
of  Scotland  banded  themselves  together  to  further  the  in- 

303 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

terests  of  the  Reformation.  These  Covenanters  came  to  be 
called  the  "Lords  of  the  Congregation."  It  was  this  con- 
federacy which  summoned  Knox  from  Geneva.  In  1558 
the  Congregation  decided  upon  an  organization  for  the 
Protestant  churches  of  Scotland.  Elders  were  chosen  by 
election  of  the  people.  To  these  elders  all  promised  obedi- 
ence. The  Congregation  petitioned  the  crown  for  liberty 
of  worship  in  the  newly  forming  churches.  This  was 
granted  except  in  the  cities  of  Leith  and  Edinburgh. 

The  Armed  Defense  of  the  Protestant  Faith. — This  was 
determined  upon  by  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation  in  1559. 
It  was  resolved  to  maintain  public  worship  according  to 
the  reformed  faith  in  all  towns  where  the  Protestants 
were  in  the  majority  and  to  suppress  the  old  church  order 
in  such  communities.  The  regent  and  her  Catholic  sup- 
porters, assisted  by  the  French  troops,  more  than  checked 
the  reformers.  Knox  saw  the  necessity  of  alliance  with 
England.  An  English  fleet  and  navy  compelled  France  to 
withdraw  from  Scotland.  The  Reformation  had  won.  The 
Estates  in  1560  voted  that  "the  Bishop  of  Rome  hath  no 
jurisdiction  nor  authority  in  this  realm  in  times  coming/' 

The  Confession  of  Faith. — Knox  and  five  companions 
prepared  a  statement  of  Protestant  belief  which  was 
adopted  by  the  Scottish  Parliament  in  1560.  It  expresses 
the  beliefs  dominant  at  Geneva.  A  constitution  for  the 
Reformed  church  was  prepared  by  the  same  men.  The 
church  life  was  to  be  controlled  and  guided  similarly  to 
the  methods  adopted  by  the  Protestants  of  France.  Cal- 
vin's catechism  was  used  to  instruct  the  youth.  Although 
there  were  still  some  stormy  scenes  with  Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots,  by  1560  the  Reformation  in  Scotland  was  thoroughly 
established.  There  remained  only  the  task  of  clarifying 
and  establishing  the  regulations  reached  by  1560  and  the 
training  and  disciplining  of  a  ministry  for  the  churches. 

Summary  :    The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  English  Reformation  Political. — While  there  were 
reformers  in  England  at  the  time  who  desired  the  correc- 
tion of  church  abuses  and  the  establishment  of  the  Protest- 

304 


ENGLISH  AND  SCOTTISH  REFORMATION 

ant  doctrines  and  theology,  the  nation  as  a  whole  sought  no 
Buch  changes.  The  Reformation  in  England  was  not  reli- 
gious but  political.  It  was  brought  about  by  an  immoral 
tyrant  who  broke  with  Rome  to  pursue  his  passions  un- 
hindered. Yet,  evil  as  were  Henry's  motives  and  repre- 
hensible his  conduct,  his  break  with  Rome  worked  for 
good.  For  the  papacy,  for  any  ecclesiastical  system,  to 
possess  supreme  authority  among  a  people  in  the  modern 
world  is  an  evil  thing.  The  powerful,  self-willed  king 
wrought  a  good  work  for  his  realm  and  for  the  English- 
speaking  world. 

The  Bible  and  Liturgy. — The  English  Reformation 
greatly  set  forward  the  kingdom  of  God  by  giving  to  the 
English  peoples  the  Scriptures  in  their  own  tongue.  The 
student  must  be  deeply  impressed  by  this  time  that  every 
purification  of  religion  has  been  wrought  by  a  return 
to  the  Scriptures.  Tyndale,  Coverdale,  and  Cranmer  have 
won  an  imperishable  place  in  the  world's  history. 

The  Reformation  in  Scotland  Calvinistic. — It  set  up  in 
that  kingdom  the  Calvinistic  doctrines  and  church  govern- 
ment. Presbyterianism,  fashioned  by  Knox  and  his  fellow 
reformers,  has  been  a  powerful  moral  force  in  English  civ- 
ilization. Knox's  interviews  with  his  queen  evidence  the 
intense  democracy  that  the  reformed  faith  everywhere 
awakened. 

The  Gospel  Translated 

Good  Lives  Immortal. — Wycliffe's  bones  and  books  were 
burned,  but  his  English  Bible  provoked  a  rebellion  from 
Rome.  Huss  was  burned,  but  his  followers  brought  nearer 
the  Scottish  Reformation.  Savonarola  was  quenched,  but 
Dean  Colet  came  from  Italy  to  proclaim  at  Oxford  that  men 
are  justified  before  God  by  faith.  Tyndale  was  burned, 
but  his  vigorous  English  was  followed  by  the  American 
revisers.  Coverdale  was  exiled,  but  his  Psalms  are  in  the 
prayer  book.  Cranmer  died  in  flames,  but  his  Litany  has 
voiced  the  need  of  God  in  the  lives  of  millions  of  his  coun- 
trymen. Fire  never  stifles  the  truth;  it  purifies  and  im- 
mortalizes it.     No  good  deed  drops  dead  in  the  soil  of 

305 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

human  life.  It  lives  and  brings  new  goodness  to  harvest. 
Live  good,  true,  brave  lives;  and  no  matter  how  much  you 
now  seem  lonely  and  unknown,  your  pure  living  makes  the 
Kingdom  draw  near.  Other  men  on  this  earth  shall  praise 
you,  and  your  eternal  reward  is  sure. 

The  Wrath  of  Men. — "The  fierceness  of  man  shall  turn 
to  thy  praise"  is  Coverdale's  translation  of  the  tenth  verse 
of  the  seventy-sixth  Psalm.  Could  he  have  been  thinking 
of  Henry  VIII?  God  surely  rules  his  world.  This  king 
broke  with  Rome  to  make  an  immoral  marriage.  He  was  a 
tyrant  who  bent  his  generation  to  his  will.  Yet  God  turned 
his  willfulness  into  good  for  England.  How  helpless  evil 
eventually  becomes!  Nero  set  up  tarred  Christians  to  il- 
lumine his  gardens,  but  the  light  of  their  martyrdom  flares 
in  our  souls.  Jesus  was  crucified,  but  he  passed  from  Cal- 
vary to  his  throne. 

A  New  Translation  of  the  Scriptures. — The  Scriptures 
must  be  translated  out  of  the  language  of  admiration  into 
the  language  of  daily  thinking  and  doing.  No  enduring 
civilization  will  rise  upon  our  crumbling  materialism  until 
the  gospel  is  enthroned  in  life.  The  change  from  selfish 
to  fraternal  ideals  and  practices  in  commercial  and  civic 
affairs  will  be  empowered  alone  by  the  loftier  experiences  of 
religion.  When  we  begin  to  seek  God  we  turn  with  new 
zest  to  the  Bible.  Although  the  Scriptures  do  not  reveal 
the  whole  will  of  God  they  show  the  way  to  God.  They  re- 
count the  struggle  through  which  men  have  passed  to  know 
God  and  the  martyrdoms  suffered  to  keep  their  high  vision 
of  holy  fellowship.  They  present  an  ideal  estimate  of  life, 
indicate  the  desirable  goals,  and  give  permanent  value  to 
those  spiritual  promptings  which  protest  against  the  slavery 
of  the  physical  world.  It  is  not  enough  to  speak  the  name 
of  Christ  reverently;  nothing  less  than  the  reproduction 
of  the  spirit  of  Christ  will  save  the  world. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  Consider  whether  the  New  I/earning  and  the  English 
Bible  would  have  worked  a  reformation  in  England  apart 
from  Henry  VIII. 

306 


ENGLISH  AND  SCOTTISH  REFORMATION" 

2.  Men  like  Colet,  Cardinal  Wolsey,  Erasmus,  and  Sir 
Thomas  More  hoped  that  the  New  Learning  would  reform  the 
church  without  a  break  with  Rome:  why  were  such  hopes 
doomed  to  disappointment? 

3.  Consider  whether  even  the  powerful  Henry  could  have 
renounced  papal  supremacy  apart  from  the  influences  of  Lol- 
lardry,  the  New  Learning,  and  the  circulation  of  the  Bible 
and  other  literature  antagonistic  to  Rome. 

4.  What  reforms  in  the  church  were  tolerated  by  King 
Henry? 

5.  In  what  distinct  way  does  the  English  Reformation  differ 
from  the  Reformation  in  other  lands? 

6.  Estimate  the  services  of  Cranmer  to  the  church. 

7.  Why  was  Queen  Mary  unable  permanently  to  check  the 
English  Reformation? 

8.  Trace  the  various  influences  that  prepared  Scotland  for 
the  Reformation. 

9.  What  influences  prepared  Knox  to  become  the  chief  re- 
former of  Scotland? 

10.  What  were  his  chief  services  to  his  native  land? 

11.  What  forms  of  doctrine  and  government  were  taken  by 
Protestantism  in  Scotland? 

12.  What  services  were  rendered  to  the  Scottish  reformers 
by  England? 

13.  Why  should  the  state,  and  not  the  church,  possess  the 
supreme  authority? 

14.  Had  a  Henry  VIII  sat  on  t&e  French  throne  in  the  early 
sixteenth  century,  what  possible  different  destiny  might  have 
come  to  the  Huguenots? 

15.  What  persons  do  you  consider  to  have  contributed  most 
to  the  Reformation  in  England  and  Scotland? 

16.  What  contribution  has  been  made  to  the  Kingdom  by 
the  Scottish  Reformation? 

References  for  Reading 

Articles  "Reformation,"  "Henry  VIII,"  "Anne  Boleyn," 
"Cranmer,"  "England,  Church  of,"  etc.,  in  Encyclopedia 
Britannica. 

Article  "Church  of  England"  in  Encyclopcedia  of  Religion 
and  Ethics. 

Protestant  Thought  Before  Kant,  McGiffert,  pages  119-40. 

The  Refwmation  in  the  Lands  Beyond  Germany,  Lindsay, 
pages  274-384. 

Cambridge  Modern  History,  Volume  II,  Chapters  XIII,  XIV, 
XVI. 

The  Psalter  in  the  Prayer  Book  of  the  Episcopal  Church  is 
Coverdale's  translation. 

History  of  the  English  Bible,  Westcott,  pages  24-102. 

307 


CHAPTER   XXV 

THE  PURITAN  IN  ENGLAND 

Puritanism  embraces  both  an  attitude  of  religion  and  a 
political  theory.  In  religion  it  is  not  to  be  identified  with 
a  particular  form  of  church  government:  Puritans  were 
found  among  the  Episcopalians  but  they  for  the  most  part 
adhered  to  the  Presbyterian  or  Congregational  forms  of 
the  government  of  the  church.  In  doctrines  they  were  us- 
ually Calvinists.  They  might  be  members  of  Presbyterian, 
Congregational,  Baptist,  Anabaptist,  or  Quaker  Church 
societies.  Politically  they  favored  the  rights  and  liberties 
of  the  people  and  opposed  the  encroachments  of  royal 
authority. 

The  Beginnings  of  English  Puritanism 

The  Influence  of  Calvin.— During  Queen  Mary's  reign 
those  who  had  been  prominent  in  the  reform  of  the  church 
and  who  would  not  belie  their  beliefs  fled  to  the  continent. 
There,  especially  in  Geneva,  they  responded  sympathetically 
to  the  doctrines  and  church  government  of  Calvin.  When 
Elizabeth  came  to  the  throne,  these  exiles  returned  home. 

Church  Reforms. — Parliament  restored  to  the  crown  the 
authority  over  the  church  exercised  by  Henry  VIII.  The 
prayer  book  of  1552,  with  some  revisions,  was  ordered  used 
in  the  churches.  This  book  enjoined  the  use  of  certain  vest- 
ments and  ceremonies.  The  returned  reformers  objected 
to  these  things.  Likewise,  they  favored  a  stricter  moral 
life  and  a  correction  of  church  abuses.  The  queen  and  her 
nobles  were  impoverishing  the  church;  bishops  and  parish 
ministers  were  not  adequately  cared  for.  These  men,  who 
had  learned  the  excellence  of  the  presbyterial  church  rule, 
now  steadily  advocated  this  form  of  church  government  for 
England.  Ministers  with  these  views  met  in  conferences, 
called    "prophesyings,"    to    quicken   within    themselves   a 

308 


THE  PURITAN  IN  ENGLAND 

deeper  spiritual  life.  These  and  other  manifestations  of 
ultra  reform  were  checked  toward  the  end  of  Elizabeth^s 
reign. 

The  Chief  Ecclesiastical  Forms  of  Pueitanism 

Presbyterianism. — The  various  Parliamentary  acts  under 
Elizabeth  deprived  many  ministers  of  their  churches.  Dur- 
ing 1567-68  congregations  were  organized  on  the  Genevan 
plan  under  the  guidance  of  some  of  the  suspended  minis- 
ters. In  1571  Parliament  recognized  the  orders  of  clergy- 
men who  had  not  been  episcopally  ordained.  The  first  Pres- 
bytery in  England  was  organized  in  1572.  From  1574  most 
of  the  Protestant  nonconformists  strove  steadily  to  intro- 
duce Presbyterianism.  During  the  reigns  of  James  I  and 
Charles  I,  Presbyterianism  became  the  dominant  ecclesias- 
tical expression  of  Puritanism.  In  1643  Parliament  sup- 
pressed the  episcopal  form  of  church  government  and  in 
1646  established  Presbyterianism.  In  1643  Parliament 
called  together  a  number  of  ministers,  two  from  each 
county,  to  advise  the  government  on  church  affairs.  Those 
favoring  Presbyterianism  predominated  in  this  assembly. 
They  issued  a  confession  of  faith  known  as  the  Westminster 
Confession,  a  Directory  for  the  Guidance  of  Public  Wor- 
ship, and  a  Catechism.  The  Confession  of  Faith  and  the 
Catechism  have  been  the  standards  of  belief  for  Presby- 
terianism in  all  English-speaking  lands.  All  churches  of 
Anglo-Saxon  peoples,  except  the  Church  of  England  and 
the  Protestant  Episcopal,  are  debtors  in  their  forms 
of  public  worship  to  the  Directory  of  1643.  Presbyterian- 
ism never  has  been  truly  congenial  to  England.  From  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  English  Presbyterian- 
ism for  the  most  part  became  Unitarian  in  doctrine  and 
Congregational  in  government.  The  membership  of  the 
Presbyterian  Churches  of  England  now  is  mostly  Scotch. 

Congregationalism.— In  1570  the  Congregational  ideal 
of  church  government  was  expressed  in  a  manifesto  The 
True  Marks  of  a  Christian  Church:  Essential  Congrega- 
tionalism, pure  Christian  fellowship  and  moral  life,  re- 
quire separation  from  the  established  church.    Those  who 

309 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

held  this  view  were  called  separatists.  Robert  Browne, 
1580,  defined  the  separatist,  or  Congregational,  belief.  The 
church,  he  held,  is  a  group  of  persons  who  have  definitely 
entered  into  a  covenant  with  God  and  with  each  other  to 
live  according  to  Christ's  gospel:  every  church  member  is 
a  spiritual  person  who  partakes  of  the  office  of  king,  priest, 
and  prophet.  Such  a  community  of  spiritual  persons  is 
warranted  by  their  divine  inspiration  to  choose  ministers 
and  other  church  officers ;  the  government  has  no  authority 
to  rule  the  inner  life  of  the  church.  Congregational 
churches  were  first  organized  in  London  in  1586.  Perse- 
cution followed,  and  they  passed  over  to  Amsterdam.  The 
Congregationalists  of  Scrooby  and  Gainsborough  exiled 
themselves  to  Holland.  The  Scrooby  church  moved  to 
Leiden  in  1609.  From  this  city  the  Pilgrims  set  forth 
in  1620  to  the  New  World.  Congregationalism  was  fa- 
vored by  Cromwell  but  was  persecuted  under  later  sov- 
ereigns. But  it  has  continued  and,  reenforced  with  new 
evangelistic  spirit  by  early  Methodism,  has  entered  with 
new  power  into  the  modern  day. 

The  Religious  and  Moral  Convictions  of  Puritanism 

Followers  of  Calvin. — The  Puritan,  of  whatever  denom- 
ination, was  a  Calvinist  in  theology  and  in  the  austerity  of 
his  morals.  Authority  in  religion  rested  in  the  Scriptures. 
Nothing  they  did  not  prescribe  could  he  tolerate.  His 
opponents  claimed  that  a  church  could  authorize  forms, 
ceremonies,  and  offices  that  were  not  forbidden  by  the 
Scriptures.  The  Puritan,  moved  by  an  overwhelming  sense 
of  the  judgment  and  of  the  glories  of  heaven,  emphasized 
a  stern  repression  of  sensual  delights.  Bunyan,  in  one  of 
his  scenes  in  the  Interpreter's  House,  expresses  the  spirit 
with  which  Puritanism  viewed  the  things  of  the  world : 

The  Interpreter  took  him  by  the  hand  and  led  him  into  a 
little  room,  where  sat  two  little  children,  each  one  in  his 
chair.  The  name  of  the  eldest  was  Passion,  and  the  name  of 
the  other  Patience.  Passion  seemed  to  be  much  discontented, 
but  Patience  was  very  quiet.  Then  Christian  asked,  "What 
is  the  reason  of  the  discontent  of  Passion?"  The  Interpreter 
answered,  "The  governor  of  them  would  have  him  stay  for 

310 


THE  PURITAN"  IN  ENGLAND 

his  best  things  till  the  beginning  of  next  year,  but  he  will 
have  all  now;  but  Patience  is  willing  to  wait."  Then  I  saw 
that  one  came  to  Passion,  one  brought  him  a  bag  of  treas- 
ures and  poured  it  down  at  his  feet:  the  which  he  took  up 
and  rejoiced  therein  and  withal  laughed  Patience  to  scorn. 
But  I  beheld  but  a  while,  and  he  had  lavished  all  away  and 
had  nothing  left  him  but  rags. 

The  Puritans  Stern  Moralists. — The  heroic  mold  in 
which  Puritanism  cast  its  people  is  seen  in  the  words  of 
William  Bradford,  governor  of  Plymouth,  who  at  thirteen 
years  of  age  renounced  the  established  church,  saying  to  his 
relatives :  "To  keep  a  good  conscience  and  walk  in  such  a 
way  as  God  has  prescribed  in  his  Word  is  a  thing  which 
I  must  prefer  above  you  all  and  above  life  itself.  Yes,  I 
am  not  only  willing  to  part  with  everything  that  is  dear 
to  me  in  this  world  for  this  cause,  but  I  am  so  thankful 
that  God  hath  given  me  a  heart  so  to  do  and  will  accept  me 
so  to  suffer  for  him/'^ 

Political  Pukitanism 
The  Development  of  a  Puritan  Party. — The  Eeformation 
was  a  new  emphasis  of  the  individual,  and  this  emphasis  in 
civil  life  was  an  awakening  democracy.  Parallel  with  the 
development  of  the  Eeformed  faith  in  England  arose  men 
who  contended  for  the  constitutional  rights  and  liberties 
of  the  people  against  the  encroachments  of  the  crown.  Dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Elizabeth  men  with  Puritan  beliefs  were 
returned  to  Parliament,  and  this  element  in  the  House  of 
Commons  repeatedly  introduced  measures  to  curb  the  royal 
authority  in  ecclesiastical  affairs.  During  the  reign  of 
James  I  the  Commons  became  increasingly  Puritan.  Upon 
the  basis  of  the  somewhat  democratic  life  of  the  Middle 
Ages  the  sovereigns  of  various  nations  were  building  up  an 
absolutism,  claiming  to  rule  by  divine  authority.  In  Eng- 
land the  sovereign  appointed  the  bishops,  who  in  turn  de- 
fended the  absolutism  of  the  king.  With  the  established 
church  on  the  side  of  absolutism  the  English  gentry  more 
and  more  accepted  the  Puritan  views  to  resist  more  solidly 
the  royal  encroachment  upon  their  liberties. 

1  Bradford's  History  of  Plymouth  Plantation,  page  6. 

311 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

The  Rise  of  the  Independents. — As  late  as  1641  most  of 

those  who  were  ranging  themselves  against  the  royal  ab- 
solutism and  the  Episcopal  Church,  which  favored  the 
king,  supported  the  movement  toward  Presbyterian  church 
government.  But  the  Presbyterians,  with  increase  of  power, 
were  adverse  to  all  forms  of  worship  except  their  own.  The 
Congregationalists,  Baptists,  Anabaptists,  and  others  were 
seeking  liberty  of  worship,  and  there  was  formed  a  political 
party  known  as  Independents,  who,  advocating  no  estab- 
lished form  of  Puritan  worship,  still  were  struggling  for 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  Among  the  early  Independents 
were  Cromwell,  Sir  Henry  Vane,  and  John  Milton.  These 
men  contended  that  any  individual  or  group  of  persons 
should  have  the  right  to  worship  according  to  their  beliefs. 
When  the  civil  war  began  between  the  parliamentary  army 
and  the  king,  the  Presbyterians  began  to  favor  Charles  I 
and  were  bargaining  with  him  to  seat  him  again  on  the 
throne.  Under  the  leadership  of  Cromwell  the  Independ- 
ents expelled  the  Presbyterians  from  Parliament;  and 
Cromwell,  supported  by  the  Independents,  assumed  the  gov- 
ernment of  England.  Presbyterianism  and  Congregation- 
alism express  distinct  types  of  Puritan  church  government, 
while  Presbyterians  and  Independents  stand  for  two  op- 
posing conceptions  of  the  relation  of  church  and  state 
and  two  factions  of  political  Puritanism  in  the  times  of 
Charles  I  and  Cromwell. 

Typical  Pukitans 

Oliver  Cromwell. — The  outstanding  political  figure  of 
Puritanism  is  Oliver  Cromwell.  He  and  his  place  in  Eng- 
land are  the  expansion  of  a  larger  Calvin  and  Genevan 
state.  Cromwell  disciplined  his  army,  won  his  battles,  sent 
Charles  I  to  the  block,  and  ruled  well-nigh  autocratically 
in  England;  and  these  acts  were  the  expressions  of  the 
conviction  that  he  was  the  instrument  of  the  Most  High  in 
the  setting  up  of  a  new  life  order  among  the  English  peo- 
ple. Cromwell's  labors  seem  canceled  by  the  restoration  of 
the  monarchy  and  the  episcopacy  under  Charles  II;  but 
out  of  Cromwell's  wars  and  reign  two  fundamental  prln- 

312 


THE  PURITAN  IN  ENGLAND 

ciples  of  Protestantism,  which  had  not  yet  been  truly 
expressed,  struggled  out  of  the  medieval  darkness  into  the 
modern  day.  These  principles  are  toleration  and  the  church 
free  from  state  control.  Despite  all  reaction  English 
civilization  never  again  returned  to  the  absolutism  of 
Charles  I. 

John  Milton. — Next  to  Cromwell  the  triumph  of  English 
Puritanism  owes  most  to  John  ^lilton.  Milton  was  the 
foremost  scholar  of  his  day,  and  not  only  was  his  great 
genius  at  the  disposal  of  Cromwell  in  affairs  of  state  but 
in  his  poetry  he  is  representative  of  English  Puritanism. 
In  1641  Milton,  in  his  tract  Of  Reformations  Concerning 
Church  Discipline,  appealed  to  his  countrymen  to  put  an 
end  to  episcopacy  and  all  attendant  practices  that  still 
related  the  Church  of  England  to  Eome.  Two  weeks  after 
Charles  I  was  beheaded,  Milton  sent  forth  his  printed  mes- 
sage Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates,  in  which  he  con- 
tends that  it  is  the  duty  of  any  who  have  the  power  to 
crush  a  tyrant.  Henceforth  he  was  a  needed  man  in  the 
commonwealth.  He  became  Latin  Secretary  in  1G41,  and 
thereafter  Cromwell  looked  to  him  not  only  to  conduct  the 
correspondence  with  other  nations  but  for  every  sort  of 
literary  help  which  his  genius  could  give  the  common- 
wealth. 

Milton's  Puritanism. — Milton's  Puritanism  was  more 
radical  and  liberal  than  the  views  held  by  other  leaders  of 
his  day.  He  disapproved  of  any  form  of  established 
church.  Pure  Christianity,  he  thought,  could  not  flourish 
with  a  state-paid  clergy ;  the  extension  of  the  gospel  should 
be  left  to  churches  and  their  voluntarily  chosen  and  sup- 
ported pastors.  Milton's  Puritan  doctrine  was  a  modified 
Calvinism.  For  him,  as  for  Calvin,  God  is  all  in  all, 
and  the  most  terrible  evil  that  befalls  man  is  to  be  sepa- 
rated from  God.  But  Milton  saw  wider  ranges  in  man's 
freedom  and  responsibility  and  more  reality  in  the  olfer 
of  Christ's  redemption. 

The  Puritan  Attitude  Toward  English  Episcopacy. — The 
following  quotation  from  Of  Reformations  Touching 
Church  Discipline  in  England  illustrates   both   Milton's 

313 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

prose  style  and  the  Puritan  feeling  toward  English  epis- 
copacy : 

Thou,  therefore,  that  sittest  in  light  and  glory,  Parent  of 
Angels  and  Men,  look  upon  this  thy  poor  and  almost  spent 
and  expiring  church;  leave  her  not  thus  a  prey  to  these  im- 
portunate wolves,  that  wait  and  think  long  till  they  devour 
thy  tender  Flock,  these  wild  Boars  that  have  broke  into  thy 
Vineyard  and  left  the  print  of  their  polluting  hoofs  on  the 
Souls  of  thy  Servants.  Oh,  let  them  not  bring  about  their 
damned  designs,  that  stand  now  at  the  entrance  of  the  bot- 
tomless pit  expecting  the  Watchword  to  open  and  let  out 
those  dreadful  Locusts  and  Scorpions  to  reinvolve  us  in 
that  pitchy  cloud  of  infernal  darkness  where  we  shall  never 
more  hear  the  Bird  of  the  Morning  sing. 

Milton's  Modified  Calvinism. — The  following  lines  from 
Paradise  Lost  indicate  something  of  Milton's  modified  Cal- 
vinism. The  Father  is  here  speaking  to  the  Son,  while 
Satan  is  on  his  journey  to  earth  to  seduce  man.  Milton 
contends  for  man's  full  free  will : 

"So  will  fall 
He  and  his  faithless  progeny.    Whose  fault? 
Whose  but  his  own?     Ingrate,  he  had  of  me 
All  he  could  have;  I  made  him  just  and  right. 
Sufficient  to  have  stood,  though  free  to  fall."* 

Milton  contends  that  those  who  will  may  be  saved.  Yet 
even  his  genius  was  not  able  to  perfectly  harmonize  the 
irreconcilable  conceptions  of  man's  free  will  and  God's  pre- 
destinating choice  for  his  creatures : 

"Man  shall  not  quite  be  lost,  but  saved  who  will; 
Yet  not  of  will  in  him,  but  grace  in  me 
Freely  vouchsafed.  ... 
Some  I  have  chosen  of  peculiar  grace, 
Elect  above  the  rest;  so  is  my  will: 
The  rest  shall  hear  me  call  and  oft  be  warned 
Their  sinful  state,  and  to  appease  betimes 
The  incensed  Deity,  while  offered  grace 
Invites.  .    .    . 

They  who  neglected  and  scorn  shall  never  taste; 
But  hard  be  hardened,  blind  be  blinded  more, 
That  they  may  stumble  on,  and  deeper  fall; 
And  none  but  such  from  mercy  I  exclude."' 


» Book  III. 

314 


THE  PURITAN  IN  ENGLAND 

John  Bunyan. — The  Puritanism  of  the  common  people 
appears  in  Bunyan.  The  terrible  mental  stress  through 
which  Calvinism  might  lead  morally  earnest  men  to  the 
peaceful  assurance  of  their  election  is  seen  in  the  author 
of  Grace  Abounding  and  Pilgrim's  Progress.  Bunyan 
served  in  the  parliamentary  army  and  was  thoroughly  com- 
mitted to  the  Puritan  cause.  He  became  a  preacher  of 
the  Baptist  Churchy  was  sent  to  the  Bedford  jail,  wrote  his 
immortal  allegory,  was  liberated  by  CromwelPs  tolerancy, 
and  traveled  widely  preaching  and  exhorting  the  churches. 
He  was  lovingly  called  "Bishop"  Bunyan.  His  Pilgrim's 
Progress  has  been  called  "the  fine  flower  of  Puritan  the- 
ology and  experience." 

Bunyan's  Writings. — The  splendor  of  Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress has  obscured  Bunyan's  Holy  War,  the  world's  second 
greatest  allegory.  Consider  the  rare  imagery  and  popular 
appeal  in  Bunyan's  putting  of  certain  Puritan  beliefs : 

In  this  gallant  Country  of  Universe  is  a  fair  and  delicate 
town  called  Mansoul.  .  .  .  There  was  reared  up  in  the 
midst  of  this  town  a  most  famous  and  stately  Palace:  for 
strength  it  might  be  called  a  Castle;  for  pleasantness,  a  Para- 
dise. This  place  King  Shaddai  intended  but  for  himself 
alone.  .  .  .  The  wall  of  the  Town  was  well  built — yea,  so 
fast  and  firm  was  it  knit  and  compact  together  that,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  townsmen  themselves,  it  could  not  have  been 
shaken  or  broken  forever. 

It  will  be  a  rare  delight  for  any  who  will  follow  Bunyan 

in  his  description  of  the  surrender  of  the  town  to  Giant 
Diabolus  and  the  evils  that  followed,  the  assault  of  the 
city  by  Prince  Emanuel,  and  the  eternal  alliance  of  this 
Prince  with  the  citizens  of  Mansoul  by  which  their  safety 
and  peace  are  secured.  His  Pilgrim's  Progress  is  a  book 
to  be  read  by  all.  One  can  never  forget  it.  It  lights  up 
our  own  pilgrimage  to  the  Celestial  City.  The  Puritan  the- 
ology that  inspired  it  may  no  longer  appeal  to  us,  but  it 
will  set  us  traveling  along  the  great  highroad  of  true  living 
with  new  hope  and  strength  beating  in  our  souls. 

Summary  :    The  Coming  Kingdom 
What  Did  the  Puritan  Accomplish  ? — The  Puritan  trans- 
315 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

formed  the  political  reformation  under  the  English  sov- 
ereigns into  a  religious  quickening  of  English  life.  He 
vitalized  in  England  the  best  of  the  Reformation  wrought 
out  on  the  Continent.  He  became  the  mouthpiece  of  Cal- 
vin to  the  English-speaking  world.  He  separated  church 
and  state  and  introduced  religious  toleration.  He  gave  new 
force  to  several  fundamental  Christian  ideas — an  emphasis 
that  has  not  disappeared  from  the  world. 

Ancient  Teaching  Vitalized. — The  Puritan  awoke  in 
England  a  new  consciousness  of  God.  He  became  a  new 
reality  to  vast  multitudes:  a  divine  Sovereign  whose  al- 
mighty will,  disobeyed,  wrought  endless  disaster  among 
men.  Sin  ceased  to  be  a  light  word.  It  meant  alienation 
from  God,  ruin  and  vast  despair,  a  slavery  whose  chains 
only  God  himself  could  break.  Justice,  righteousness,  and 
purity  were  given  new  content  and  reality.  Men  felt  within 
them  the  grand  and  irresistible  spirit  of  God  giving  them 
power  to  attack  evil  victoriously.  If  any  men  ever  have  felt 
God  within  them,  the  Puritans  did. 

The  Puritan  Influence. — Puritanism  as  a  political  power 
did  not  long  endure.  Its  religious  spirit  and  moral  con- 
victions continue  in  large  measure  with  us.  Puritanism, 
transplanted  to  New  England,  shaped  in  great  measure 
American  institutions.  In  education,  church  forms,  moral 
convictions,  and  religious  beliefs  American  Protestantism 
owes  much  to  the  men  whom  Cromwell  once  led  to  set 
up  in  England  what  the  Puritan  believed  to  be  a  govern- 
ment of  God. 

The  Call  of  God 

Called  of  God. — The  soul  of  the  Puritan  was  fashioned 
by  the  conviction  that  God  had  spoken  to  him  and  assigned 
him  his  task.  So  Cromwell  believed  in  the  execution  of  the 
king.  So  Milton  in  his  blindness  strove  to  figure  forth  the 
wars  of  earth  and  paradise.  So  Bunyan  held  as  he  lay 
dreaming  in  Bedford  jail.  The  triumph  of  such  men  does 
not  depend  on  the  task  of  which  they  feel  themselves  sum- 
moned. Men  often  mistake  the  end  of  a  journey.  It  is 
not  the  goal  that  counts  in  the  building  of  character; 

316 


THE  PURITAN  IN  ENGLAND 

it  is  the  acceptance  of  commissions,  duties,  and  tasks  as 
coming  from  God.  It  is  the  obedience  to  such  call  at  any- 
personal  sacrifice  which  builds  the  world.  The  voice  of 
God  ever  is  calling  men  and  women.  That  others  have 
misunderstood  his  will  is  no  excuse  for  delay  or  disobedi- 
ence. We  are  not  to  be  judged  by  future  centuries  but 
by  our  own.  Hell  is  the  issue  not  of  ignorance  but  of 
unapplied  wisdom. 

Do  Not  Shrink  From  Difficulty. — You  have  the  Puritan's 
heroism  within  you.  Deep  in  your  soul,  an  elemental  part 
of  your  being,  lies  the  power  to  fling  yourself  at  the  hazard 
of  life  into  the  championship  of  a  great  cause.  You  may 
subvert  this  strength  of  devotion  to  business,  social  pleas- 
ures, the  cultivation  of  popularity,  or  the  pursuit  of 
fashions  of  food  and  dress.  But  to  do  such  things  will 
keep  you  in  the  ranks  of  the  commonplace  world.  If  you 
go  about  the  world  seeking  easy  things  to  do,  you  will  find 
them ;  but  when  you  find  them  you  will  have  lost  the  great- 
ness out  of  your  own  soul.  Study  any  great  life  and  you 
will  find  that  it  is  in  difficulties,  in  struggles,  in  the  front- 
ing of  perils,  in  the  drive  ahead  into  ghastly  possibilities, 
in  the  forward  look  with  spirit  unafraid,  that  the  great 
souls  have  been  formed. 


Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  circumstances  led  to  the  introduction  of  Calvin's 
views  into  England? 

2.  What  form  of  church  government  was  advocated  by 
Calvin? 

3.  What  were  the  objections  of  those  Englishmen  who 
came  under  Calvin's  influence  to  the  Church  of  England  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Elizabeth? 

4.  What  was  the  Puritan  attitude  toward  the   Scriptures? 

5.  What  were  his  characteristic  views  of  God?  sin?  his 
attitude  toward  the  outward  things  of  life? 

6.  What  forms  of  church  government  did  he  advocate? 

7.  What  Puritan  views  were  expressed  in  Paradise  Lost? 

8.  What  was  Bunyan's  great  service  to  the  Puritan  cause? 

9.  What  conditions  compelled  the  Puritans  to  form  a 
political  party? 

10.  What    services    were    rendered    the    Puritan    cause    by 

317 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

political  Presbyterianism?  by  the  Independents?  In  what  way 
could  Milton  and  Cromwell  justify  the  execution  of  Charles  I? 

11.  To  what  extent  did  the  political  ascendency  of  Puritan- 
ism contribute  to  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom? 

12.  The  Puritan,  especially  the  Congregationalists,  con- 
tended for  the  separation  of  church  and  state.  Has  this 
separation  made  for  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom? 

13.  Consider  to  what  extent  the  Puritan's  aversion  to  lit- 
urgy and  vestments  still  appears  in  the  churches.  Has  this 
rejection  of  ceremonial  advanced  or  hindered  the  progress 
of  Christianity? 

14.  What  was  wrong  with  the  Puritan  Sabbath?  In  what 
way  could  we  improve  our  observance  of  Sunday? 

Reading  References 

Articles  "Anabaptists,"  "Bunyan,"  "Cromwell,"  "Congrega- 
tionalism," "Milton,"  "Puritanism,"  "Presbyterian," 
"Browne,"  "Brownism,"  in  Encyclopwdia  Britannica  and  En- 
cyclopwdia  of  Religion  and  Ethics. 

A  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Walker,  pages  457-78. 

Cromwell's  Letters  and  Speeches,  Carlyle. 

Studies  in  Mystical  Religion,  Jones,  pages  396-427. 

Cambridge  Modern  History,  Volume  II,  Chapter  XVI;  Vol- 
ume III,  Chapter  X;  Volume  IV,  Chapters  VIII-XII. 


318 


CHAPTEE  XXYI 

THE  PROTESTANT  AND  THE  EOMAN-CATHOLIC 
IDEAL 

In  this  chapter  are  presented  a  summary  of  the  beliefs, 
spirit,  and  purposes,  so  far  as  they  can  be  generally  charac- 
terized, which  animated  the  Protestant  world  at  the  close 
of  the  Reformation  period;  the  efforts  within  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  to  reform  its  life  and  preserve  its  powers ; 
and  a  sketch  of  the  spirit  of  this  church  at  the  threshold 
of  the  twentieth  century.  Such  a  study  points  out  the 
wide  chasm  between  Protestantism  and  Romanism  and  in- 
dicates the  field  wherein  Kingdom  movements  may  be 
expected. 

The  Protestant  Ideal 

Emphasis  TTpon  Moral  Living. — The  Protestant  spirit 
in  every  case  was  awakened  by  the  moral  laxity  of  the 
church.  It  was  the  sexual  immorality  of  the  clergy,  the 
universal  graft  in  connection  with  offices  in  the  church,  the 
supernatural  claims  of  the  priesthood,  coupled  with  arro- 
gance, ignorance,  drunkenness,  cruelty,  and  other  forms 
of  worldliness  which  became  the  starting  point  of  all  the 
reformers.  Waldo  was  possessed  by  the  belief  that  the 
Christian  must  reproduce  the  moral  life  of  Christ ;  Wycliffe 
was  aroused  by  the  avarice,  the  hypocrisy,  the  lust,  and  the 
shallow  conception  of  sin  which  prevailed  in  the  mendi- 
cant orders;  Luther  was  aroused  by  the  papal  greed  that 
turned  the  deep  mysteries  of  forgiveness  into  brazen  com- 
mercialism; Calvin,  Knox,  and  the  Puritans  were  unbend- 
ing moralists.  Protestantism  brought  home  to  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries  the  fact  that  religion  cannot  be 
divorced  from  morals.  This  high  moral  fervor  ever  has 
been  characteristic  of  the  Protestant  churches.    Individual 

319 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

purity  of  life  and  social  reform  are  outstanding  character- 
istics of  the  Protestant  ideal. 

The  Sacred  Scriptures. — The  moral  passion  that  revolted 
against  the  decadent  church  life  of  the  Reformation  cen- 
turies returned  with  new  interest  and  confidence  to  the 
Bible.  It  was  the  effort  of  the  reformers,  by  a  return  to  the 
source  of  Christianity,  to  justify  their  condemnation  of 
the  prevalent  church  life.  Everywhere  they  encouraged 
the  use  of  the  Scriptures  and  appealed  to  them  as  the  high- 
est authority  to  which  bishops  and  princes  must  yield. 
Wycliffe  translated  the  Bible  into  English;  Luther  gave 
them  to  his  humblest  countrymen;  Calvin  turned  to  them 
to  defy  his  king  and  to  construct  his  theology;  Kjiox 
launched  the  Scottish  Reformation  by  appeal  to  the  Scrip- 
tures; and  the  Puritans  built  their  commonwealth  upon 
that  foundation.  The  Bible  was  given  a  place  such  as  it 
never  before  had  held  in  the  church.  It,  instead  of  the 
pope,  became  the  final  authority  for  vast  multitudes  of 
once  faithful  subjects  of  the  Romish  hierarchy. 

The  Essence  of  Religion. — In  the  medieval  church  the 
essence  of  religion  was  obedience  to  the  constituted  religious 
authorities.  The  layman  had  no  direct  dealings  with  God. 
He  was  not  expected  to  confess  his  sins  to  his  heavenly 
Father  nor  to  live  by  any  precious  consciousness  of  fellow- 
ship with  him.  Religion  was  mediated  to  him  by  the  priest. 
The  return  to  the  Scriptures  was  encouraged  by  and  in 
return  gave  new  emphasis  to  the  feeling  that  man,  as  man, 
is  a  member  of  the  family  of  God ;  and  that,  as  a  follower 
of  Christ,  he  may  make  his  way  directly  to  God  to  find  the 
forgiveness  and  to  enjoy  the  fellowship  of  his  Father.  All 
the  reformers  put  aside  priestly  mediation ;  they  considered 
the  church  of  God  to  be  a  democratic  commonwealth  and 
not  an  aristocracy  or  a  monarchy.  The  reformers  ushered 
in  a  new  day  for  the  common  man.  Henceforth  religion 
for  the  thoughtful  and  the  courageous  could  be  no  more  an 
unthinking  subserviency  to  sacred  persons,  ceremonies,  and 
mysteries,  but  a  joyous  and  dutiful  fellowship  of  children 
with  their  Father  in  heaven. 

The   Nature   of  the   Church. — The   conception   of   the 

320 


PEOTESTANT  AND  CATHOLIC  IDEAL 

church  and  its  relation  to  the  kingdom  of  God  which  in 
general  characterizes  the  Protestant  world  is  a  total  break 
with  the  medieval  church  and  is  irreconcilable  with  modern 
Eoman-Catholic  teaching.  The  reformers,  in  emphasizing 
moral  living  and  justification  before  God  by  faith  in  his 
merciful  promises  and  gracious  nature,  gave  expression  to 
three  revolutionary  ideas  of  the  church: 

(a)  The  membership  of  the  church. — The  church  pre- 
vious to  the  Eeformation  often  meant  no  more  than  the 
pope  and  the  hierarchy  of  priests  subordinate  to  him.  In 
its  widest  meaning  it  included  those  who  acknowledged  the 
papal  authority.  The  reformers  broke  with  this  external 
delimitation  of  the  church.  Luther  defines  the  church  as 
follows :  "I  believe  that  there  is  on  earth,  through  the  whole 
wide  world,  no  more  than  one  holy,  common  Christian 
church,  which  is  nothing  else  than  a  congregation,  or  assem- 
bly, of  the  saints — that  is,  the  pious,  believing  men  on 
earth — which  is  gathered,  preserved,  and  ruled  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  daily  increased  by  means  of  the  sacraments  and 
the  Word  of  God.'^^  Here  are  to  be  found  two  conceptions 
of  the  church  wholly  at  variance  with  the  Eoman  position : 
Church  membership  is  defined  (1)  by  relation  to  God,  and 
not  by  relation  to  any  human  being;  (2)  by  piety  of  life, 
and  not  by  a  political  relationship.  These  principles  were 
characteristic  of  all  the  reformers.  This  was  the  position  of 
Calvin  and  the  Presbyterians  and  the  various  separatists  of 
England. 

(h)  Government  of  the  church. — All  the  reformers  broke 
with  the  papal  absolutism ;  but  Luther  and  the  majority  of 
the  English  reformers  merely  substituted  the  state  for  the 
papacy.  Yet  Luther,  in  doing  so,  did  not  carry  out  to 
logical  conclusion  the  principles  he  had  enunciated;  it 
remained  for  Calvin,  Knox,  and  the  various  Separatists  of 
England  to  insist  that  the  authority  of  the  church  was  resi- 
dent in  the  Christian  congregation  itself.  Early  English 
Congregationalism  taught  that  all  persons  who  worshiped 
God  in  accord  with  the  Scriptures  were  spiritually  minded, 


»  Works,  Volume  II,  page  373. 

321 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  EEFORMERS 

and,  when  such  were  gathered  into  congregations,  their  col- 
lective spiritual  life  constituted  a  church  and  warranted 
them  to  choose  such  officers  and  establish  such  discipline  as 
was  needful  to  further  true  religion.  The  logical  conclusion 
of  the  Reformation  is  a  democratic  church  life,  whether 
such  life  is  administered  under  episcopal,  presbyterial,  or 
congregational  forms. 

(c)  The  sacraments. — The  medieval  church  ascribed  to 
the  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  a  value 
wholly  independent  of  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  recipient. 
They  were  efficacious  works  performed  by  the  priest.  Tlie 
Eucharist  was  a  sacrifice ;  the  real  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ 
were  offered  anew  in  every  mass  by  the  priest  for  the  for- 
giveness of  sins.  These  views  were  mechanical,  uuscrip- 
tural,  unreasonable,  and  unrelated  to  life.  While  the  re- 
formers differed  in  their  views  in  some  particulars,  they 
agreed  that  the  efficacy  of  the  sacrament  depended  on  the 
faith  and  life  of  the  recipient.  *'To  seek  the  efficacy  of 
the  sacrament  apart  from  faith  is  to  labor  in  vain  and  to 
find  damnation.''  This  word  of  Luther's  is  the  constant 
Protestant  note  with  all  the  reformers. 

The  Ideal  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 

The  Counter  Reformation. — There  were  many  earnest 
advocates  of  church  reform  who  did  not  unite  themselves 
with  the  great  Reformation  movement  which  gave  to  the 
world  the  Protestant  churches.  The  success  of  the  Re- 
formation in  wresting  vast  multitudes  from  the  Roman 
Church  aroused  even  the  most  stupid  among  the  Catholics 
to  see  the  necessity  of  doing  something  to  prevent  the  entire 
ancient  system  from  going  to  pieces.  This  effort  to  reform 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  from  within  is  termed  the 
Counter  Reformation. 

(a)  Early  efforts  at  reform. — The  spirit  of  the  Roman- 
Catholic  reformers  is  fully  seen  in  the  changes  accomplished 
in  the  church  in  Spain.  The  prolonged  strife  with  the 
Moors  so  strengthened  civil  rulers  that  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities  ever  were  subordinated  to  the  state.  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  responding  to  the  widespread  feeling  that 

322 


PROTESTANT  AND  CATHOLIC  IDEAL 

the  church  should  be  reformed,  set  about  to  purge  from 
the  Spanish  Church  those  evils  which  were  the  common 
scandal  of  Christendom.  Ximenes,  a  Franciscan  monk, 
was  given  authority  by  the  sovereigns  to  carry  out  his  plan 
of  reform.  He  visited  the  monasteries  and  established  in 
them  the  strictest  discipline.  The  priests  in  charge  of 
parishes  were  admonished  or  removed  until  a  clergy  was 
obtained  free  from  moral  blame.  Utterly  ignorant  priests 
were  deprived  of  their  benefices;  schools  of  theology  were 
established;  scholars  were  called  to  new  chairs  in  old  uni- 
versities; and  the  whole  moral  life  of  the  Spanish  Church 
was  aroused  to  finer  achievements.  But  there  was  no  break 
with  the  theology  or  the  institutions  of  the  medieval  church. 

(h)  The  Council  of  Trent, — It  was  this  Spanish  concep- 
tion of  a  reformation — the  reform  of  morals  within  the  old 
institutional sm  and  creeds — which  prompted  and  carried 
through  the  Council  of  Trent.  This  council  was  convened 
by  the  pope  in  Trent,  Austria,  in  1545  and  continued,  with 
several  interruptions,  until  1563.  The  chief  concern  of  the 
council  was  to  determine  more  rigidly  and  authoritatively 
those  doctrines  of  the  medieval  church  which  had  been  at- 
tacked by  the  Protestants.  The  supreme  effort  ^^as  made 
to  yield  nothing  to  Protestant  theology  and  "to  emerge 
from  the  purgatory  of  the  council  as  far  as  possible  un- 
changed— that  is,  having  all  its  customs,  practices,  pre- 
tensions, and  sins." 

The  Tridentine  Faith. — The  Council  of  Trent  prepared 
the  way  for  the  Profession  of  the  Tridentine  Faith,  pub- 
lished in  1564  and  made  obligatory  upon  all  Roman  Cath- 
olics. The  following  articles,  chosen  from  the  twelve  that 
constituted  this  creed,  indicate  its  spirit.  This  creed  is  still 
binding  upon  all  members  of  the  Roman  Church : 

(a)  Concerning  the  Scriptures. — It  will  be  noted  that 
the  article  strikes  at  the  Protestant  contention  that  the 
Bible  should  be  freely  interpreted  and  read  by  every  Chris- 
tian.   Article  III: 

I  also  admit  the  Holy  Scriptures  according  to  that  sense 
which  our  Holy  Mother  Church  has  held,  and  does  hold,  to 
which  it  belongs  to  judge  of  the  true  sense  and  interpreta- 

323 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

tion  of  the  Scriptures;  neither  will  I  ever  take  and  interpret 
them  otherwise  than  according  to  the  unanimous  consent 
of  the  Fathers. 

(&)  The  church. — The  authoritative  Roman  creed  makes 
no  change  in  the  medieval  conception  of  the  church.  The 
church  in  Rome  is  "mistress  of  all  churches,"  and  the  Ro- 
man Church  is  essentially  the  pope  himself.  Membership 
in  the  church  is  not  denoted  by  piety  of  life,  nor  by  the  in- 
dividual's relation  to  God.    Article  X : 

I  acknowledge  the  holy  catholic  apostolic  Roman  Church 
as  the  mother  and  mistress  of  all  churches  and  I  promise  and 
swear  true  obedience  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome  as  the  suc- 
cessor of  Saint  Peter,  prince  of  the  apostles,  and  as  the 
vicar  of  Christ. 

(c)  The  sacraments. — The  Protestant  attack  upon  the 
sacraments  made  no  change  in  the  official  Roman  position. 
The  seven  sacraments — baptism,  confirmation,  Eucharist, 
penance,  extreme  unction,  holy  orders,  and  matrimony — 
were  retained,  and  their  efficacy  assigned  to  priestly  media- 
tion. The  Eucharist  is  defined  as  a  sacrifice,  and  it  is  af- 
firmed that  the  priest  in  his  celebration  of  the  mass  trans- 
forms wine  and  bread  into  blood  and  body  of  Christ. 
Article  YI : 

I  profess  that  in  the  mass  there  is  offered  to  God  a  true, 
proper,  and  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the  dead; 
and  that  in  the  most  holy  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist  there 
is  truly  and  substantially  the  body  and  blood,  together  with 
the  soul  and  divinity,  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  that 
there  is  made  a  change  of  the  whole  essence  of  the  bread  into 
the  body  and  of  the  whole  essence  of  the  wine  into  the  blood. 

(d)  Purgatory. — No  change  was  made  in  the  medieval 
conception  of  purgatory.  The  length  of  stay  in  purgatory 
depends  on  the  number  of  masses  said  for  the  individual  by 
the  living  (Article  VIII).  Prayers  to  saints  are  author- 
ized and  recommended  (Article  VIII).  Relics  of  the  saints 
are  to  be  venerated  (Article  VIII).  Idolatry  is  retained  in 
the  church.    Article  IX : 

I  most  firmly  assert  that  the  images  of  Christ  and  of  the 
perpetual  Virgin,  the  Mother  of  God,  and  also  of  other  saints 

324 


PROTESTANT  AND  CATHOLIC  IDEAL 

ought  to  be  had  and  retained,  and  that  due  honor  and  venera- 
tion are  to  given  them. 

In  spite  of  all  abuses  of  indulgences  and  the  fact  that  the 
scandals  in  connection  with  them  precipitated  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  contrary  to  all  historical  fact,  the  creed,  Article 
IX,  asserts: 

I  also  affirm  that  the  power  of  indulgences  was  left  by- 
Christ  in  the  church,  and  that  the  use  of  them  is  most  whole- 
some to  Christian  people. 

(e)  The  church  and  the  Kingdom. — This  creed  identifies 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  with  the  kingdom  of  God  on 
earth.  Compare  with  Luther's  definition  of  the  church 
these  words  from  Article  XII : 

I  do  at  this  present  freely  profess  and  truly  hold  this  true 
Catholic  faith,  without  which  no  one  can  be  saved. 

Papal  Infallibility. — While  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
Roman  bishop  over  all  other  bishops  had  been  the  conten- 
tion of  the  popes  for  centuries,  and  while  this  position  of 
the  papacy  was  tacitly  admitted  in  the  Council  of  Trent,  it 
was  not  until  the  Vatican  Council  of  1870  that  the  popes 
were  in  position  to  have  this  contention  written  into  the 
constitution  of  the  Roman  Church.  It  was  now  decreed 
that  the  pope,  in  faith,  morals,  and  in  disciplining  power, 
is  the  infallible  teacher  and  supreme  ruler  of  the  Christian 
world : 

(a)   Supreme  ruler. — Part  of  the  decree  reads  as  follows : 

We  teach  and  declare  that,  by  the  appointment  of  our  Lord, 
the  Roman  Church  possesses  a  superiority  of  ordinary  power 
over  all  other  churches,  and  that  this  power  of  jurisdiction 
of  the  Roman  pontiff,  which  is  truly  episcopal,  is  immediate; 
to  which  all,  of  whatever  rite  and  dignity  .  .  .  are  bound 
to  submit  not  only  in  matters  which  belong  to  faith  and 
morals  but  also  in  those  that  appertain  to  the  discipline  and 
government  of  the  church  throughout  the  world  .  .  .  This 
is  the  teaching  of  Catholic  truth,  from  which  no  man  can 
deviate  without  loss  of  faith  and  salvation. 

(h)  InfalUhle  teacher. — The  words  of  the  decree  which 
define  this  dogma  run : 

325 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

We  teach  and  define  that  it  is  a  dogma  divinely  revealed 
that  the  Roman  pontiff,  when  he  speaks  ex  cathedra — that  Is, 
when  in  discharge  of  the  ofllce  of  pastor  and  doctor  of  all 
Christians,  by  virtue  of  his  supreme  apostolic  authority,  he 
defines  a  doctrine  regarding  faith  or  morals  to  be  held  by 
the  universal  church — by  the  divine  assistance  promised  to 
him  in  blessed  Peter  is  possessed  of  that  infallibility  with 
which  the  divine  Redeemer  willed  that  his  church  should  be 
endowed  for  defining  doctrine  regarding  faith  or  morals. 

(c)  Facing  the  past. — The  spirit  of  the  Roman-Catholic 
ideal  is  expressed  in  one  of  the  sentences  of  this  decree : 

For  the  Holy  Spirit  was  not  promised  to  the  successors  of 
Peter,  that  by  his  revelation  they  might  make  known  new 
doctrine  but  by  his  assistance  they  might  inviolably  keep  and 
faithfully  expound  the  revelation  or  deposit  of  faith  delivered 
through  the  apostles. 

It  is  a  sad  thing  to  face  the  past  alone,  especially  when  such 
extravagant  and  nnhistorical  claims  are  made  of  the  past 
as  appear  in  other  words  of  this  same  decree : 

This  see  of  holy  Peter  remains  ever  free  from  all  blemish 
or  error,  according  to  the  divine  promise  of  the  Lord  our 
Saviour  made  to  the  prince  of  his  disciples:  "I  have  prayed 
for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not;  and  when  thou  art  con- 
verted, confirm  thy  brethren." 

SuMMAEY :   The  Coming  Kingdom 

The  Past. — To  which  does  the  past  belong — Protestant- 
ism or  Roman  Catholicism?  Which  group  of  churchmen 
have  more  largely  contributed  to  the  betterment  of  the 
world — the  reformers  or  those  who  assembled  in  the  Council 
of  Trent?  Who  have  voiced  more  clearly  the  moral  vir- 
tues, individual  freedom,  democratic  life,  life's  deep  obliga- 
tion to  God  ?  Who  have  supported  more  warmly  the  move- 
ment of  social  and  political  reform  ?  Who  have  possessed 
the  open  mind,  the  fuller  sympathy,  the  greater  unselfish 
love?  While  Protestantism  does  not  possess  the  whole  of 
the  religious  triumphs  of  the  past  four  centuries,  a  glance 
at  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  countries  shows  which  ideal 
has  infused  the  more  wholesome  spirit  into  life. 

The  Future.— To  whom  does  the  future  belong?  The 
326 


PROTESTANT  AND  CATHOLIC  IDEAL 

Roman  Church,  in  contrasting  itself  with  Protestantism, 
boasts  unity  of  life  and  harmony  and  positiveness  of  teach- 
ing ;  but  Protestantism,  though  broken  up  into  far  too  many 
sects,  has  experienced  the  deeper  life.  Religion  has  been 
the  expression  of  a  profounder  experience.  A  survey  of 
any  Romanist  community  reveals  that  religion  does  not, 
despite  all  its  apparent  devotion,  touch  so  deeply  the  inner 
springs  of  life.  It  is  quite  compatible  with  indifference 
to  moral  progress,  to  political  integrity,  to  social  reform,  to 
intellectual  honesty.  The  religion  of  the  future  will  need 
to  articulate  most  intimately  with  the  whole  of  life.  As  the 
two  great  branches  of  Christendom  now  stand,  the  future 
lies  almost  wholly  with  Protestantism.  Its  life  runs  nearer 
the  social  passions.  Its  vision  is  closer  to  the  spiritual 
desires  of  Christ. 

The  Appeal  to  Reason 

The  Dignity  of  the  Individual. — The  Reformation  awak- 
ened in  the  church  a  new  and  powerful  sense  of  sin.  It 
was  a  moral  reaction  against  the  profligacy  of  medieval 
Christianity.  Protestantism  in  the  realm  of  morals  said 
to  men  and  women,  "You  are  too  great  to  sin.'^  In  the 
realm  of  piety  it  said,  "You  need  no  priestly  mediator." 
In  the  realm  of  intellect  it  said,  "Subject  all  religious  dog- 
mas to  the  reason."  "Come  now,  let  us  reason  together" 
is  ever  God's  invitation  to  man.  God  invites  men  into  the 
noblest  intellectual  heights  to  behold  his  face.  No  great 
Christianity  can  arise  wherever  the  masses  of  the  church 
are  forbidden  or  refuse  to  think  deeply  upon  questions  of 
religion. 

The  Message  of  the  Prophets. — The  prophetic  message 
was  an  appeal  to  the  reason.  It  lifted  religion  above  an 
unmeaning  circle  of  sacrifice  into  an  ethical  life.  It  pro- 
claimed that  God  cared  infinitely  more  for  justice,  truth, 
and  loving  obedience  of  all  the  moral  impulses  than  he  did 
for  the  priestly  spilling  of  the  blood  of  cattle.  "The  sacri- 
fices of  God  are  a  broken  spirit."  The  scarlet  sins  that 
defiled  life — pride,  selfishness,  and  lust — no  unthinking 
ritual  could  atone.    Only  as  man  sought  their  death  in  a 

327 


APOSTLES,  FATHERS,  AND  REFORMERS 

genuine  moral  fellowship  with  God  could  such  evils  be 
washed  away. 

The  Protestant  Spirit. — Luther,  Zwingli,  Calvin,  and 
Knox  appeal  to  the  reason.  "Come  now,  let  us  reason  to- 
gether" was  their  invitation  to  the  Romanist  world.  Cal- 
vin's appeal  to  Francis  I  is  typical  of  the  aim  of  the  great 
reformers  to  bring  the  church  of  their  day  to  the  bar  of 
reason  and  of  their  belief  that  religion  would  emerge  from 
that  fiery  bath  a  purer  gold.  It  was  the  elevation  of  reli- 
gion into  the  thought  world  which  made  possible  the  tri- 
umphs of  the  Reformation. 

Righteousness  the  Evidence  of  Mentality. — Shallow  and 
careless  thinking  never  deals  adequately  with  sin.  Macbeth 
learned  that  passion  and  pleasure  through  all  our  yesterdays 
*'have  lighted  fools  the  way  to  dusky  death.''  The  sinner 
lacks  imagination.  He  has  no  eye  for  the  invisible,  no  ear 
for  the  whispers  of  the  spirit.  Wickedness  never  imposes 
on  thoughtful  men  its  brazen  crowns  as  golden  coronals. 
Crude  religion  and  professed  irreligion  alike  are  the  chil- 
dren of  shallow  thinking.  Opposition  to  Christian  mis- 
sions, indifference  to  social  reforms,  discouragement  in  the 
face  of  greed,  failure  to  tramp  devotedly  every  trail  of 
moral  progress:  these  are  to  live  within  narrow  horizons. 
Righteousness  is  the  mark  of  a  great  mind. 

Suggestions  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  What  was  the  essence  of  religion  according  to  the  great 
Hebrew  prophets?  Consider  to  what  extent  Protestantism 
and  Roman  Catholicism  express  their  views. 

2.  Where  were  the  sympathies  of  Jesus:  with  the  priestly 
or  the  prophetic  conceptions  of  religion?  What  resemblances 
may  be  found  between  the  priests  of  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  clergy  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church? 

3.  Compare  the  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Protestant  attitude 
toward  the  Bible.  What  is  the  source  of  religious  authority 
for  each? 

4.  What  are  the  distinguishing  marks  of  the  Protestant 
conception  of  the  church? 

5.  What  was  the  immediate  effect  of  the  Protestant  Ref- 
ormation upon  the  Roman  Church? 

6.  Discuss  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  views  of  the  sacra- 
ment.   What  is  the  dogma  of  transubstantiation? 

328 


PEOTESTANT  AND  CATHOLIC  IDEAL 

7.  Can  the  Roman  teaching  concerning  saints,  relics,  and 
images  be  reconciled  with  the  first  commandment? 

8.  What  makes  the  dogma  of  papal  infallibility  obnoxious 
to  Protestants?    Why  is  it  acceptable  to  Catholics? 

9.  Which  of  these  two  great  groups  of  Christians  show 
the  greater  missionary  zeal?  interest  in  moral  reforms? 
in  education?  in  church  loyalty?  Which  exhibits  the  greater 
democracy  in  church  life? 

10.  Name  the  outstanding  services  rendered  the  world  by 
Protestantism;  by  the  Catholic  Church. 

11.  Why  are  you  a  Protestant?  What  do  you  see  in  Roman 
Catholicism  to  admire? 

12.  What  effects  have  the  divisions  of  Protestantism  upon 
the  Christianizing  of  the  social  order?  To  what  extent  will 
greater  church  unity  among  Protestants  hasten  the  coming 
of  the  Kingdom? 

13.  What  is  the  probability  that  Romanism  and  Protestan- 
tism may  be  united  again  in  one  church? 

Heading  Eeferences 

A  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Walker,  pages  422- 
30;  555-64. 

Outlines  of  Church  History,  Sohm,  pages  179-87. 

Theological  Symbolics,  Briggs,  pages  221-35. 

A  History  of  Creeds,  Schaff,  pages  83-191. 

The  Reformation  in  the  Lands  Beyond  Germany,  Lindsay, 
pages  484-611. 

Articles  "Trent,  Council  of"  and  "Roman  Catholic  Church" 
in  Encyclopcpdia  Britannica. 

Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  Volume  III,  pages 
622-23;  838-43;  Volume  IV,  pages  199-201.  See  article  "Prot- 
estantism" in  same  encyclopaedia. 


329 


INDEX 


Acts  of  the  Apostles,  132;  mo- 
tive for  writmg  of,  133 

Advance,  definite  stages  of,  7 

Agrippa  I,  63 

Angel,  one  in  every  church,  122 

Anglo-Saxon  missionaries  in 
northern  Europe,  235 

Apologists,  the,  181;  pleas  of, 
188;  success  of,  189 

Apostasy,  159 

Apostolic  age,  heresy  in,  156 

Apostolic  church,  trials  and 
triumphs  of,  153 

Arian  controversy,  the,  209 

Arius,  the  concern  of,  210 

Asia  Minor,  the  churches  of,  112 

Athenagoras,  187 

Augustine,  work  of,  212 

Baptism,  rite  of,  147 

Barbarian  invasions,  230 

Barnabas,  61 

Belief,  development  of,  164 

Benedict,  243 

Bible,  the,  in  human  life,  282; 
Reformation  made  possible 
by,  283 

Bishop  synonymous  with  dea- 
con, 143;  function  of,  144; 
primacy  of  the  Roman,  218 

Bithynia,  economic  disturbances 
in,  89;  foundations  of  Chris- 
tianity in,  113 

Body,  resurrection  of  the,  81 

Book  of  Revelation,  background 
of,  160;  prophetic  message  of, 
161 

Books,  the  lure  of,  137 

Brotherhood,  human,  20 

Bunyan,  John,  315 

Calumny,  cause  of,  187 
Calvin,  John,  285;  the  father  of 

French     Protestantism,     286; 

source  of  his  power,  292;  in- 


fluence of  in  affairs  of  men, 
293,  308;  world's  debt  to,  294; 
followers  of,  310 

Canon,  outside  the,  135 

Christ,  the  risen,  13;  revealed  to 
discouraged  disciples,  13;  abid- 
ing presence  of,  14;  person  of, 
154;  Messiahship  of,  173 

Christian  literature,  Jewish,  65 

Christian  ministry,  the,  139 

Christian  witnesses,  second-  and 
third-century,  198 

Christianity,  presentation  of  to 
the  Jew,  47;  spread  of  in  first 
century,  112;  a  new  social 
force  in  Asia  Minor,  122; 
spread  of  aided  by  Greek 
language,  168;  pagan  ideas  of, 
182-186;  moral  triumphs  of, 
197;  contact  of  with  Greek 
thought,  208;  transformation 
of,  217;  identification  of  with 
church,  219;  becomes  a  church, 
225;  appeal  of  to  Christian 
Europe,  229;  essentially  mis- 
sionary, 238 

Christians,  crusades  against,  258 

Church,  the,  175 

Church,  the,  chief  agent  in 
propagation  of  gospel,  9;  first 
days  of  primitive,  17;  literary 
contribution  of  to  the  King- 
dom, 67;  moral  and  social 
education  contributed  by,  68; 
attitude  of,  207;  identified 
with  the  episcopacy,  220;  iden- 
tification of  with  Roman 
papacy,  221 

Church  and  the  Kingdom,  the, 
150 

Church  builders,  226 

Church  conference  at  Jerusalem, 
60 

Church  disciphne,  problems  of, 
79 


331 


INDEX 


Church  of  the  circumcision,  59 

Church  of  the  Middle  Ages,  263 

Church  organization  in  apostolic 
age,  139 

Church  reforms,  308 

Citizenship,  test  of,  214 

CiviHzation,  world's,  121 

Clement,  epistle  of,  106 

Clergy,  worldly  hves  of  the,  264 

Colossse,  120 

Coming  kingdom,  the,  31,  43, 
54,  67,  82,  95,  121,  136,  148, 
177,  187,  199,  214,  225,  237, 
260,  271, 282,  292, 304,  315, 326 

Common  fund,  the,  93 

Community,  first  Christian,  13; 
breach  in  the,  59 

Complaint  against  Christians, 
basis  of,  90 

Congregationalism,  309 

Corinth,  pagan,  72;  licentious 
conditions  in,  73;  founding  of 
church  at,  73;  factions  in 
church  at,  79;  Paul's  ministry 
in,  82 

Corinthians,  First  and  Second, 
127 

Council  of  Constance,  265 

Council  of  Trent,  323 

Courtesy,  false,  83 

Coverdale,  Miles,  298 

Cranmer,  Thomas,  301 

Creeds,  the  use  of,  211;  dog- 
matic, 214 

Critics,  pagan,  192 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  312 

Crusades  against  the  Moslems, 
256;  against  the  Christians, 
258;  to  increase  papal  power, 
259 

Crusading  for  the  Kingdom,  253; 
for  God,  261 

Crystal  cup  of  hope,  202 

Cyprus  and  Galatia,  advance 
into,  35,  36 

Daily  bread,  our,  95 

Daybreak  in  different  lands,  263 

Depravity,  native,  212 

Diana,  shrine  of,  88 


Diet  at  Worms,  the,  280 
Disciples,  confidence  of  in  Christ 

restored,  13;  task  of  the,  14 
Dispute,  the,  at  Antioch,  60 
Distress,   economic,   reheved  in 

church,  93 
Docetists,  the,  158 
Doctrine,  development  of,  212 

Economic  problems  of  early 
Christianity,  86 

Emperor  worship,  test  of,  159 

Ephesus,  antagonism  at,  87;  be- 
ginnings of  Christianity  at, 
88;  the  church  at,  115 

Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  testi- 
mony of,  105 

Ethical  brotherhood,  spirit  of 
among  Jewish  Christians,  68 

Ethical  task  of  Christianity,  192 

Ethics,  Christian,  201 

Evangelism,  fruits  of,  42 

Fellowship,  Christian,  148 

Fervor,  religious,  cruelty  of,  257 

Fifth  century,  the,  222 

First  Peter,  129 

France,  beginning  of.  Reforma- 
tion in,  285;  church  organiza- 
tion in,  290 

Franks,  Christianity  accepted 
by,  233;  church  of  without 
spiritual  power,  234 

French  Protestants,  285 

Galatia,  the  gospel  in,  113 
Galatians,  letter  to,  127 
Gentile  Israel,  troublers  of,  70 
Gentile  parish,  moral  problems 

of,  72 
Gentile  worshipers  of  Jehovah, 

52 
Germanic  tribes,   a  mission  to 

the,  232 
Germans,  Christianizing  of  the, 

230 
Gnosticism,  157;  failure  of,  159 
God,  an  enlarging  conception  of, 

57;  presence  of,  293 


332 


INDEX 


God's  orders,  45 

Gospel,  imperialism  of  Christian, 

43;    Gospel,    the,    translated, 

305 
Greek  thought,  170 
Gregory  the   Great,   Bishop   of 

Rome,  223 
Growth  of  the  Kingdom  of  God, 

7 

Henry  VIII,  299 

Heresy,    153;   in   apostolic  age, 

156;  discussed,  165 
Heretics,  crusades  against,  258 
Hierapolis,  120 
Highways  to  the  heart,  20,  21 
Huguenots,  trials  and  triumphs 

of,  290;  migrations  of,  291 
Huss,  John,  action  of,  267;  life 

of,  269;  teaching  of,  270 

Iconium,  preaching  at,  37 
Ideal,    Protestant    and    Roman 

Catholic,  319 
Ideals,  imparting  of,  215 
Idolatry,  91;  absurdities  of,  187 
Immorality,  Roman,  200 
Indulgences,  255 
InfallibiUty,  papal,  325 
Intimacy  with  God,  174 
Irenaeus,  218 
Ireland,    Christian   missions   in, 

231 
Irish  missionaries,  the,  234 

Jail  delivery,  a,  42 

James,  martyrdom  of,  64;  epis- 
tle of,  65 

Jerusalem  church,  later  history 
of,  63 

Jesus,  173 

Jewish  Christianity,  factions  in, 
61;  vitaUty  of  lost,  64 

Jewish  Dispersion,  the,  167;  a 
preparation  for  Christianity. 
168 

Jews,  later  preaching  to,  49-51 

John,  the  apostle,  tradition  con- 
cerning, 115;  Gospel  of,  134 


Judaism,  18 
Jude,  epistle  of,  66 
Justin  Martyr,  208 

Kingdom,  and  creed,  205 

Kingdom,  the,  centered  in  Jesus, 
19;  monastic  ideal  of,  241 

Kingdom  movements  of  apos- 
tolic age,  167 

Kingdom  of  God  at  work,  43; 
when  overdoctrinized,  164 

Kingdom  prophets,  task  of,  163 

Knox,  John,  302 

Laodicea,  119 

Law  and  religion,  Roman,  171 
Leaders,  Christian,  176 
Leaders,  first  Christian,  23 
Letter  wTiting,  art  of,  137 
Letters  written  from  Rome,  128 
Life,    increase   in   meaning   and 

value  of,  18 
Literature,    Christian,    in   apos- 
tolic age,    125;  necessity  for, 
176 
Lord's  Day,   nature  of  service, 
146;  social  imphcations  of,  149 
Love,  lavish,  251 
Lycia,  114 

Lystra,  38;  Paul's  message  at,  53 
Luke,  Gospel  according  to,  132 
Luther,  Martin,  274;  excommu- 
nication of,  280 

Magnesia,  120 

Man,  lowhness  of,  293 

Mark,  Gospel  according  to,  130 

Marriage,  discussed  by  Paul,  77 

Matthew,  Gospel  according  to, 

131 
Men,  undreamed  of  good  in,  57 
Mendicant  orders,  the,  247 
Message,  early  Christian,  47 
Messianic  character  and  office  of 

Jesus,  19 
Messianic  hope,  Jewish,  18 
Monastery,  244 
Monasticism,     oiigin     of,     241; 

spread  of,  243;  benefits  of,  249 


333 


INDEX 


Military  orders,  the,  248 
Military    religious    orders,    the, 

259 
Military  service,  93 
Milton,  John,  313 
Missionary   activities  in  pagan 

Europe,  231 
Missionary  ministry,  the,  139 
Missionary  torch,  the,  238 
Monarchianism,  210 
Monarchical  episcopate,  149 
Moral     conditions     in     Roman 

world,  192 
Morality  the  end  of  religion,  202 

New-Testament  writings,  135 
Nicene  Creed,  the,  206;  essence 
of  the,  207 

Occupations  closed  to  Christians, 
92 

Pagan  Germany,  missions  to,  234 

Pagan  hearers,  message  delivered 
to,  53 

Pagan  morals,  Christian  views 
of,  194 

Pagan  theology,  weakness  of  ex- 
posed, 187 

Paganism,  conflict  with  morals 
of,  76;  social  relations  with, 
78;  attack  upon,  186 

Pagans,  papal  Christianity  given 
to,  237 

Pamphylia,  114 

Papacy,  225 

Pastoral  epistles,  the,  133 

Paul,  28-31;  his  new  commis- 
sion, 35;  return  journey  of,  39; 
off  for  Galatia,  40;  relation  of 
to  trade  and  business,  45;  at 
Thessalonica  and  Berea,  53; 
preaching  of  to  Gentiles,  54; 
the  intellectual  traveler,  55; 
return  of  to  Antioch,  61;  ar- 
rival of  at  Corinth,  73;  sails 
for  Ephesus,  74;  second  visit 
of  to  Corinth,  75;  his  third 
visit,  75;  herald  of  sunrise,  83; 


lectures   of   at    Ephesus,  89; 

letter  of  to  church  in  Rome, 

99;  reply  of  to  Judaizers,  99; 

his  life  in  Rome,  102;  his  hope 

of  liberty,  103;  death  of,  103; 

a  poor  denominationalist,  109; 

letters  of,  125 
Pentecost,  16 
Pergamum,  117 

Persecutions  pictured  in  Revela- 
tion, 121 
Peter,  23-25;  second  epistle  of, 

65. 
Philadelphia,  119 
Philippi,  41 
Pilgrimages,  254 
Popes,  wars  instigated  by,  258 
Preaching  of  the  first  days,  the, 

47 
Predestination,  213 
Presbyterianism,  309 
Presiding  officers,  functions  of, 

142 
Principles  of  highest  civilization, 

177 
Property,  Christian  ethics  of,  77 
Prophets,  message  of  the,  327 
Protestant  faith,  armed  defense 

of,  304 
Public  worship,  disorders  in,  80 
Puritan,  the,  in  England,  308. 
Puritanism,  292;  characteristics 

of,  310;  as  a  pohtical  power, 

316 

Reason,  the  appeal  to,  327 

Redemption,  174 

Reformation,  forerunners  of  the, 
266;  discussed,  274-278;  Eng- 
lish and  Scottish,  the,  296; 
extent  of  English,  300 

Religion,  essence  of,  320 

Religion,  fundamentals  of,  8;  an 
impulse  to  moral  achievement, 
83 

Religion  and  ethics  united  by 
Christianity,  82 

Religious  experience,  personal, 
essential,  20 


334 


INDEX 


Religious  fellowship,  growth  of, 
17 

Religious  fervor  and  inhumanity, 
261 

Religious  orders,  245 

Resurrection  of  Jesus,  48 

Revelation  2.  1-7,  testimony  of, 
116 

Roman  Bishops,  claim  of,  219 

Roman  Christians,  second  gen- 
eration of,  105 

Roman  Church,  self-reliance  of, 
109;  primacy  of,  218 

Roman  empire  nominally  Chris- 
tian, 229 

Romans,  letter  to,  128 

Rome,  Christianity  in,  98;  pro- 
gress of  Christianity  in,  99; 
triumphs  at,  100;  un-PauHne 
Christianity  at,  101;  burning 
of,  104;  hostile  to  Christianity, 
105;  types  of  Christianity  at, 
107 

Saint  Peter,  chair  of,  226 

Sardis,  118 

Schism,  the  papal,  264 

Scriptures,  the,  a  new  transla- 
tion of,  306 

Sects,  origin  of,  209 

Sepulcher,  holy,  the,  261 

Settled  ministry,  the,  141 

Sex,  matters  of,  76 

Silas,  travels  of  with  Paul,  40 

Simple  life,  the,  96 

Simplicity  of  life,  emphasis  upon, 
94 

Sin,  salvation  from,  54 

Slavery,  78;  condition  of  ameli- 
orated by  Christianity,  87 

Smyrna,  117 

Social  lines,  advance  along,  55 

Society,  a  mihtary,  253;  a  reli- 
gious, 253 

Sojourners  at  Rome,  108;  perse- 
cution of,  110 


Soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  a,  44 

Soul,  windows  of  the,  32 

State,  moral  basis  for,  200 

Stephen,  25-27 

Summons  to  witness  for  Jesus, 
14;  to  win  Jews  to  belief  in 
Messiahship  of  Jesus,  15 

Synoptic  Gospels,  the,  129 

Thyatira,  117 

Time,  the  fullness  of,  178 

"Tongues,"  meaning  of  the,  16 

Trade  guilds,  importance  of  the, 
89 

Trades  and  professions  repug- 
nant to  Christianity,  91 

Tralles,  120 

Travelers,  Roman  protection  of, 
171 

Troas,  41 

Truth,  the  triumph  of,  272 

Twelve  apostles,  teaching  of  the, 
67 

Tyndale,  William,  297;  work  of, 
298 

Ulfila,  231 

Waldensians,  266;  purity  of  lives 

of,  267 
Wandering  Jew,  the,  69 
Wars  of  God,  260 
Witness  for  Jesus,  summons  to 

a,  14 
Wittenberg,  the  fire  at,  280 
Woman,  position  of,  80 
Workers,  anonymous,  122 
World  tolerance,    Christianity's 

appeal  for,  181 
Worship,  145 

Written  Gospel,  the  earliest,  130 
Wycliffe,  John,  268;  influence  of, 

269 

Zeal,  the  religious,  257 


335 


Date  Due 


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Apostles,  Fathers,  and  reformers, 

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